How citizens in Mozambique and Botswana are improving learning outcomes of their children: a comparative analysis of how the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach is implemented in Mozambique and Botswana

In Mozambique and Botswana, civil society organizations, Facilidade-ICDS and Young 1ove, are leading and implementing innovative actions that are improving learning outcomes of school age children. This paper aims to analyze and compare the implementation context of these actions focusing on how government engagement and school infrastructure is shaping the design, implementation and results of both initiatives. Both Facilidade and Young 1ove adopted interventions based on TaRL approach to contribute to the solution of the learning crises in their countries. TaRL is a remedial education program which is an evidence-based intervention developed by Pratham in India and has improved learning outcomes for almost 50 million students. The approach involves evaluating students using a simple assessment tool and then grouping them according to their learning level rather than age or grade. Teaching students at their ability and not at grade level has shown to be one of the most cost-effective approaches to improve basic literacy and numeracy.