The sustainability of early grade education interventions: Do learning gains and improved teacher practices persist?

Abstract

The cost-effectiveness of one-time investments in teacher productivity relies crucially on two sources of persistence: the future life-time benefits to students exposed to the teachers, and the sustained productivity of teachers. This study tests for both these using results from a randomized evaluation of two teacher professional development programs - Coaching or Training - aimed at improving teaching of early-grade reading in South Africa. We find that for both programs the initial improvements in learning persist, when students are assessed one year after the program ended. However, the impacts on the subsequent cohort of students – those taught by teachers one year after they received coaching/training – is roughly half the size and is only statistically significant for schools where teachers received Coaching. In both programs, teachers retain their knowledge and continue using the resources provided by the program, but only teachers who received Coaching maintain their improved teaching techniques.