Nobel Prize Winner praises the effective, transformational methodology underpinning EdoBEST

2019 Nobel Prize-winning economist, Professor Michael Kremer’s groundbreaking study into an education methodology started in Kenya, before arriving in Nigeria, has announced learning gains among the ‘largest ever measured in international education’.

The impact shown in the study is among the greatest of any rigorously studied intervention in emerging markets. The methodology powered by NewGlobe, an education technical partner supporting visionary governments in the transformation of public education is the same one used in Governor Obaseki’s education transformation program Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST).

NewGlobe’s methodology was  adopted in Edo state across the primary school system in 2018 and since then has delivered impressive learning outcomes, thereby gaining support of the World Bank and enabling extension into hundreds of junior secondary schools and so called ‘progressive schools’ in hard-to-reach areas.

Professor Kremer’s highly anticipated study – published by the University of Chicago in the US –  found that primary and middle school pupils in a NewGlobe program gain almost an additional year of learning (0.89) under the NewGlobe integrated methodology, learning in two years what their peers learn in nearly three.

For early childhood development (ECD) pupils the gains were even bigger. Those pupils supported by NewGlobe gained almost an additional year and half of learning (1.48), learning in two years what their peers in other schools learn in three and a half years.

The findings put the learning gains achieved by NewGlobe in the top 1% of learning gains ever rigorously studied at scale in low and middle income countries. Assuming similar impacts over the course of a student’s primary schooling, those in NewGlobe supported schools would receive 53% more education over the course of their early childhood and primary school career.

The World Bank estimates that  50% of children in low and middle income countries cannot read with comprehension by their tenth birthday. In Nigeria, UNICEF estimates that 70% of children in the school system face a learning crisis, that is why wholescale interventions like EdoBEST are being supported, not just by forward-looking state governments but also multilateral institutions like the World Bank.

The newly released Kremer study found that a pupil in primary one (approximately  7 years old) is three times more likely to be able to read when taught using the methods underpinning NewGlobe. These are the kinds of impressive results state governments across Nigeria should desire for their public schools and some are achieving them.

Indeed, foundational literacy gives children better life chances. The Edo state government noted this as the prime reason for implementing EdoBEST in the first place. In a well publicized Financial Times article, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state noted that, “the breakdown of the education system — particularly at the basic level — also resulted in a significant learning deficit among young people, which made them unemployable and desperate to find a future elsewhere.”

Professor Kremer’s study  was conducted over two school years and included over 10,000 students from lower socio-economic backgrounds using indicators such as access to electricity and whether homes had dirt or mud floors.

2019 Nobel Prize Winner, Professor Michael Kremer said:  “ The effects in this study are among the largest in the international education literature, particularly for a program that was already operating at scale. “This study shows that attending schools delivering highly standardized education has the potential to produce dramatic learning gains at scale, suggesting that policymakers may wish to explore incorporation of standardization, including standardized lesson plans and teacher feedback and monitoring, in their own systems.”

The relevance of the study’s findings for Nigerian political leaders and policy makers is clear. When students are better educated, the economy benefits significantly. Economic growth follows improved schooling, enhancing the opportunities for a nation’s youth, and for the economy’s workforce.

If replicated at scale across other State Governments’ public schools, this integrated methodology could put more pupils on track to match academic performance levels achieved by peers from middle and upper-middle income countries, potentially  pushing Nigeria up education league tables to match countries with incomes three or four times greater per person.

Speaking on EdoBEST, Governor Obaseki said, “ For us as a government, our priority is our people because it is the people that create everything else. That is why we have prioritized education in Edo State. Our focus is on the foundation, because once a child has a sound foundation, that child can build on that foundation subsequently. The children in our public school can compete with their colleagues anywhere in the world. The Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) is acclaimed as one of the most transparent educational projects on the continent.”

Achieving these results is not due to one single programming aspect but rather the integrated methodology that produces better academic performance and fairer educational outcomes. The study highlights a combination of methods deployed by NewGlobe, including instructional design and ongoing professional development and support as part of this holistic system. This same combination of methods is recognized by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP) and recommended as a “good buy” and highlighted as priorities in clawing back pandemic-related learning losses for students in low and middle income countries.

Additionally, findings of equity feature prominently.  Equity has long been the target of education programming but with 2030 rapidly approaching, meeting SDG4 is increasingly regarded as unachievable.  Yet, the study shows that Kremer and his collaborators show that students in schools implementing NewGlobe’s integrated methodology benefited its most struggling students most.

This integrated approach to teaching and learning has been embraced by visionary Nigeria State leaders and brought to support government teachers and school leaders; it continues to show significant learning gains in these contexts. In Edo State’s Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) program in Nigeria, other studies indicated students had the equivalent of 54% more schooling in English and 71% more schooling in math, learning in one term than what would have normally been learnt in 1 year.

Effectively tackling learning poverty is the challenge facing Nigeria’s leaders. Every year that passes without system change impedes the country’s growth, stability and prosperity.

As the study shows, an effective holistic learning system can deliver transformational learning outcomes at scale and tackle the endemic learning poverty crisis. States across Nigeria are already implementing this methodology with widespread success and the figure is increasing year on year.