The Economist on TaRL

An article that appeared in The Economist on April 10th offers a glimpse into how Pratham’s Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) methodology is being implemented in Africa to help students catch up in the wake of Covid-19.

The impact of school closures on learning has been devastating—disproportionately impacting under resourced communities, widening learning gaps and exacerbating inequality. According to the author,” Pupils in many poor countries have long been learning shockingly little. In Botswana only about half of ten-year olds can read and understand a simple story—in America the rate is92%.”

To get students back on track, educators are turning to Pratham’s evidence-backed approach, recognised by experts as one of the most promising strategies for improving education quality at scale. TaRL groups students according to learning level rather than age or grade, helping children rapidly develop core foundational skills—the single most important step for ensuring success in school and in life.

Six randomised control trials conducted in India by J-PAL-affiliated researchers over the past two decades have shown that the approach, whether delivered by Pratham staff or trained teachers in government-run schools, has led to some of the largest, most cost-effective learning gains of any primary education program evaluated.

Read more about how our groundbreaking solution is being carried out on an international level to help bridge the learning gap for children in need.