Impacts of Targeted Instruction with Mobile-based Support on Teachers and Students in Rural Côte d’Ivoire

We report results from a school-randomized trial examining the impacts of a targeted-instruction program (“Teaching at the Right Level”) in Côte d’Ivoire implemented by teachers (N=167 schools, 303 teachers, 3,808 students). The program increased literacy and numeracy outcomes measured by learning levels (d=0.16 and 0.28) and had smaller marginally statistically significant impacts on functional literacy and numeracy skills (d=0.10 and 0.08). Improvements in learning outcomes were concentrated amongst children at the bottom of the distribution, with no statistically significant improvements in higher levels of learning. Examination of potential mechanisms through quantitative and qualitative data highlighted the importance of distinguishing between fluency and decoding or computational skills, the role of teacher knowledge, and barriers and enablers to quality implementation.