Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of the STRIPES trial was to assess the effectiveness of providing supplementary, remedial teaching and learning materials (and an additional ‘kit’ of materials for girls) on a composite of language and mathematics test scores for children in classes two, three and four in public primary schools in villages in the Nagarkurnool division of Andhra Pradesh, India.MethodsSTRIPES was a cluster randomised trial in which 214 villages were allocated either to the supplementary teaching intervention (n = 107) or to serve as controls (n = 107). 54 of the intervention villages were further randomly allocated to receive additional kit for girls. The study was not blinded. Analysis was conducted on the intention to treat principle, allowing for clustering.ResultsComposite test scores were significantly higher in the intervention group (107 villages; 2364 children) than in the control group (106 villages; 2014 children) at the end of the trial (mean difference on a percentage scale 15.8; 95% CI 13.1 to 18.6; p<0.001; 0.75 Standard Deviation (SD) difference). Composite test scores were not significantly different in the 54 villages (614 girls) with the additional kits for girls compared to the 53 villages (636 girls) without these kits at the end of the trial (mean difference on a percentage scale 0.5; 95% CI -4.34 to 5.4; p = 0.84). The cost per 0.1 SD increase in composite test score for intervention without kits is Rs. 382.97 (£4.45, $7.13), and Rs.480.59 (£5.58, $8.94) for the intervention with kits.ConclusionsA 18 month programme of supplementary remedial teaching and learning materials had a substantial impact on language and mathematics scores of primary school students in rural Andhra Pradesh, yet providing a ‘kit’ of materials to girls in these villages did not lead to any measured additional benefit.Trial RegistrationControlled-Trials.com ISRCTN69951502
Highlights
Effective provision of education in rural areas of the developing world is an issue which has troubled policymakers, activists, and scholars for decades [1,2]
The primary objectives of this study were to (i) assess the effectiveness of a widely used NGO intervention, providing supplementary remedial teaching and learning materials to children in classes 2–4 in public primary schools in villages in Andhra Pradesh, on their language and maths scores evaluated after two academic years of the programme; (ii) assess the effectiveness of the intervention in (i) alongside additional material support provided to girls, relative to the intervention without this additional support, on girls’ performance in the same classes over the same time period
The main secondary objectives were to assess the cost per child of the supplementary teaching and learning materials programme when implemented in this rural setting, and to assess the costs relative both to the benefits of the additional material support provided to girls in this intervention
Summary
Effective provision of education in rural areas of the developing world is an issue which has troubled policymakers, activists, and scholars for decades [1,2]. In the last decade there has been a spate of research attempting to evaluate the efficacy of interventions which increase either the quantity or the quality of public education or which stimulate demand for education through incentive programmes. A review study [8] identifies a series of interventions, such as merit scholarships, teacher monitoring programmes, school health programmes, provision of uniforms to girls, conditional cash transfers to parents, and supplementary education programmes, which have succeeded in raising both attendance and performance levels in rural schools across the developing world. The aim of the STRIPES trial was to assess the effectiveness of providing supplementary, remedial teaching and learning materials (and an additional ‘kit’ of materials for girls) on a composite of language and mathematics test scores for children in classes two, three and four in public primary schools in villages in the Nagarkurnool division of Andhra Pradesh, India
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