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-instructionprogram (“Teaching at the Right Level”) in Côte d’Ivoire implemented by teachers (N=167schools, 303 teachers, 3,808 students). The program increased literacy and numeracy outcomesmeasured by learning levels (d=0.16 and 0.28) and had smaller but statistically insignificantimpacts on functional literacy and numeracy skills (d=0.10 and 0.08). Improvements in learningoutcomes were concentrated amongst children at the bottom of the distribution, with nostatistically significant improvements in higher levels of learning. Examination of potentialmechanisms through quantitative and qualitative data highlighted the importance ofdistinguishing between fluency and decoding or computational skills, the role of teacher programknowledge, and barriers and enablers to quality implementation.