Bridging Evidence and Policy Lessons from Scaling Differentiated Learning in Ghana

• In Event: Building Foundations for Equity and Peace: Early Learning, Evidence, and System Reform

Proposal

Across sub-Saharan Africa, a pressing challenge for education systems is translating rigorous evidence on what works for foundational learning into actionable, system-wide policy reforms. Ghana’s Differentiated Learning (DL) program offers a unique lens on this process, showcasing how a partnership between the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ghana Education Service (GES), and research partners has shaped one of the largest national remedial education programs in Africa. This paper examines the pathways through which evidence has been transformed into national policy decisions, and the institutional mechanisms that emerged along the way.

The genesis of DL in Ghana can be traced to early experiments in targeted instruction. The Teacher Community Assistant Initiative (TCAI), evaluated through a randomized control trial (RCT) in 2010, revealed that grouping students by learning level rather than age or grade could substantially improve literacy and numeracy outcomes (Duflo et al., 2024). However, it also revealed challenges of managerial capacity, fidelity, and teacher motivation. A subsequent evaluation, Strengthening Teacher Accountability to Reach All Students (STARS), tested whether enhanced managerial support from headteachers and circuit supervisors would improve fidelity and sustain implementation. Results confirmed that managerial oversight and support could significantly improve both implementation and learning (Beg et al., 2023).

Building on this foundation, the Government of Ghana made a bold policy decision to embed DL in the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP). Through this initiative, DL was scaled to over 10,000 schools, reaching more than 2.4 million children. Importantly, this phase represented the first time that DL was implemented at such scale under direct government leadership, with technical support provided to build systems for fidelity monitoring and adaptation. This policy shift demonstrated how rigorous evidence, strategically communicated and contextualized, could inform national reforms.

Three pathways of evidence-to-policy influence stand out. First, **research as diagnostic**: monitoring audits of 200 schools conducted in 2024 showed that while teachers valued DL, only about one in four consistently applied it in their classrooms. These findings informed the urgent need for refresher trainings and more intensive coaching. Second, **research as a design tool**: a randomized evaluation of refresher training revealed that in-person refreshers significantly boosted teacher confidence and implementation compared to digital-only training, which suffered from low engagement. Finally, **research as advocacy**: dissemination through a DL documentary and participation in platforms such as the ADEA podcast raised the visibility of DL nationally and internationally, cementing it as a core policy priority.

The Government’s strategic introduction of District DL Focal Persons (DLFPs) was another milestone shaped by evidence. These roles, created in direct response to fidelity challenges, equipped every district with a dedicated officer responsible for supporting teachers, validating data, and ensuring consistent implementation. The DLFP model represents an institutional innovation that blends managerial support with data-driven accountability, echoing global best practices for sustaining reforms (Banerjee et al., 2017).

The collaboration between MoE, GES, and partners illustrates that bridging evidence and policy is not a linear process of “research first, policy later.” Instead, it requires iterative feedback loops, political alignment, and adaptive problem-solving. Donors such as the World Bank (through GALOP), UBS Optimus Foundation, and USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures provided catalytic funding that aligned with government ownership, further enabling institutionalization. At the same time, challenges such as early donor exits highlighted the fragility of reforms dependent on external resources, underscoring the need for deeper budget integration within MoE.

Ultimately, the Ghana case contributes to global debates on evidence-to-policy translation by showing that rigorous evaluations are necessary but insufficient. Sustained engagement, co-creation with government agencies, and responsive adaptation of interventions are essential for ensuring that reforms take root. As countries seek to scale evidence-based practices to address the learning crisis (Pritchett, 2015; Glewwe & Muralidharan, 2016), Ghana’s experience demonstrates the promise and complexity of aligning evidence with national policy processes.

Keywords: Differentiated Learning, Evidence-to-Policy, Scaling, Ghana, Foundational Learning

Authors

• FREDERICK BIRIKORANG, Ghana Education Service

• Henry Atimone, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)

• Isaac Kwadwo Yeboah, Ghana Education Service Headquarters