Student outcomes in Philippine elementary schools: An evaluation of four experiments

Policymakers in most developing countries are concerned about high dropout rates and poor student learning in primary education. The government of the Philippines initiated the Dropout Intervention Program in 1990-92 as part of its effort to address these issues. Under this program, four experimenta l interventions were randomly assigned to 20 schools in selected low-income areas. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected from these schools, as well as from 10 control schools, in order to evaluate the program's impa ct on dropout behavior and student learning. The economic justification for I education appears to be strongest for the interventions that provided te achers with learning materials, which helped them to pace lessons according to students' differing abilities, and that initiated parent-teacher partne rships, which involved parents in the schooling of their children. The just ification was weakest for the school feeding intervention. In addition to t he results specific to the Philippines, this research demonstrates the feas ibility of monitoring and evaluating interventions in; the education sector itt other developing countries, including the use of randomized control de signs.