Let's Go Girls!: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Tutoring and Scholarships on Primary School Girls' Attendance and Academic Performance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Abstract

The Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to balance a commitment to education in general, and girls’ education more specifically, and additional challenges brought about through cyclical conflict. The Valorisation de la Scholarisation de la Fille project aimed to improve literacy and numeracy by providing scholarships, tutoring, and comprehensive professional development for teachers. Using a randomized control design (RCT), we tracked both the achievement and attendance outcomes of these girls over a period of three years. Several factors positively influenced student growth in reading and mathematics, including the proportion of female teachers in the school, girls’ perceptions of the school environment, receipt of a scholarship, and tutoring (math only). Household survey data suggest that the project minimized/reduced an already existing gap between enrollment in school for control and intervention communities; and school data suggest increased enrollment for girls in upper primary school. The findings suggest that programs designed to provide increased access to education may be the most successful in improving outcomes for students.