Student Learning Outcomes in Tanzania’s Primary Schools : Implications for Secondary School Readiness
This policy note is an attempt to systematically analyze and document emerging trends in the evolution of students’ learning outcomes in Tanzania’s primary schools. The note is based on two rounds of the Service Delivery Indicators Survey in Tanzan...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Policy Note |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/637761553580119324/Student-Learning-Outcomes-in-Tanzania-s-Primary-Schools-Implications-for-Secondary-School-Readiness http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31465 |
| Summary: | This policy note is an attempt to
systematically analyze and document emerging trends in the
evolution of students’ learning outcomes in Tanzania’s
primary schools. The note is based on two rounds of the
Service Delivery Indicators Survey in Tanzania, 2014 and
2016, and provides guidance to the Government on: (1)
regional, district and school-level variations in gains in
pupil achievement scores; (2) student, teacher and school
level factors associated with learning outcomes; and (3) key
observable factors associated with highest gains in test
scores. The good news is that the Government’s concerted
reform efforts are showing positive results in quality of
schooling: test scores in English, Math, and Kiswahili for
Standard four pupils have improved significantly over time.
They have improved all across Tanzania, with largest gains
registered in disadvantaged targeted districts (EQUIP-T3),
followed by rural areas. Low-performing regions are catching
up as the impacts of several large-scale investment programs
are taking root. These improvements in test scores appear to
be associated with improvements in teacher effort and
subject knowledge. Rising pupil-teacher-ratios pose risks to
continued learning improvements, particularly as the
Government is preparing for rapid expansion in enrolments in
the wake of the Fee-Free Basic Education Policy. Students
tested for 2016 will be entering Form 1 secondary in
2018-19. For the improvements in learning at the primary
level to have maximum impact, particularly in disadvantaged
regions supported by EQUIP-T, they will require immediate
attention to and investments in secondary schools to take
these students through the full cycle of quality basic
education promised by FFBEP. Female students, overage
students, and non-native Kiswahili speakers continue to lag
behind in learning, posing threats to the long-term equity
of the system. Careful measurement of teacher practices at
secondary level can provide ways to supportteaching behavior
conducive to the well-being of these children. |
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