Teaching at the Right Level Africa

The problem: children are in school but not learning.

Governments across Africa have made remarkable progress in increasing school enrollment, with many low- and middle-income nations now enrolling primary school-age children at rates comparable to high-income countries. However, learning data reveals a discouraging truth: enrollment in school does not ensure learning. In Sub-Saharan Africa, many children complete primary schooling without being able to read basic sentences.The World Bank Estimates that more than 100 million children in Sub Saharan Africa cannot read or understand questions related to a 150-word piece [1]

Educational systems are not well prepared to meet the requirements of children who are the first in their family to attend school or who join the school system without having acquired early-learning skills in childhood. Children who miss these early milestones rarely catch up and a child who cannot read by age 10 is a child the system has already left behind.

The solution: teach students at the right level.

Rather than teaching according to age-based curriculum expectations, which often leaves struggling students behind, Teaching at the Right Level focuses on teaching children at their actual learning level, helping them master foundational skills before progressing. The TaRL approach was pioneered by Pratham — one of India’s most rigorously evaluated education organizations and a founding partner of TaRL Africa — in the early 2000s, and is now recognized by the World Bank’s Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP) as one of the most cost-effective ways to improve learning in low-income countries. 

At the classroom level, TaRL is a teaching approach that assesses children using a simple testing tool and then groups them according to their learning level rather than their age or grade. For a period of the day, children in middle-upper primary focus on highly interactive activities that allow them to catch up with their learning in reading and math. They are then regularly assessed to ensure they are moved to the next learning level as they progress in their learning.

At the system levels, the TaRL approach works with education policymakers to reorient the system toward effective learning. This work includes:

• encouraging policymakers to dedicate remediation time to teaching children basic reading and math skills;
• moving away from the age-grade structure to teaching children based on their actual learning level;
• setting up mentoring systems to support teachers to deliver TaRL effectively;
• embedding approaches of continuous improvement;
• and setting up systems of measurement which lead to action.

TaRL moves away from business-as-usual education toward ensuring that all children learn.

How Teaching at the Right Level Africa works

TaRL Africa works with governments and partners to design and develop the processes, practices and resources required to deliver effective TaRL programs that increase learning outcomes for millions of children across Sub Saharan Africa.  Their team brings extensive experience in pedagogy, research, program design and government systems strengthening. .

• Co-design context-specific delivery models. TaRL Africa works directly with governments as well as in-country partners to co-design context-specific and evidence-informed delivery models and supporting processes. This includes designing simple teaching-learning materials and assessment tools; determining how TaRL will be delivered at a school level; how data will be collected, entered, analyzed, and used for action; and how training and mentoring models will enable scale.
• Sustain impact through ongoing learning. Effectively scaling-up is a long term process. TaRL Africa provides strategic and learning support throughout, working with  partners to course-correct and adapt as necessary while building their skills to do this independently over time.
• Anchor implementation in government ownership. TaRL Africa believes that governments are key actors in ensuring that all children build basic reading and math skills. They provide deep and direct in-country support to governments in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Malawi and Zambia, as well as remote support to partners working with governments to deliver TaRL programs in several other countries.
• Build local capacity. TaRL Africa also builds the skills of our partners and equips a pool of educators with technical knowledge and practical experience to train and support others to deliver teaching at the right level. TaRL Africa’s technical support and mentorship continues throughout implementation to cultivate a cadre of leaders of practice with the know-how and passion to continually adapt, improve and grow the program in their context.