Foundational Learning

Despite decades of success in expanding school enrolment, global education systems have failed to deliver real learning. Solving the learning crisis requires deep, home-grown system reform that focuses on improving learning itself rather than inputs, access, or short-term interventions.

Millions of children in low- and middle-income countries attend school without learning to read, with ineffective teaching methods driving a global learning crisis. New global evidence demonstrates that structured, low-cost, and evidence-based reading instruction can transform literacy outcomes and unlock long-term economic growth.

Cuts to global education funding will forgo at least $100 billion in lifetime earnings. Supporting national governments to leverage domestic financing to improve foundational learning should be a priority for the development assistance that remains, ...

While access to schooling has improved globally, learning outcomes remain shockingly poor—particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. How can foundational learning help bridge this gap?

How can we tackle the global learning crisis?

A programme rewarding teachers for increasing their students’ foundational skills improved learning in public primary schools in Tanzania. A cheap and easy to communicate version of the programme was most (cost-)effective, and is currently being scal...