Scaling at the Right Level: Lessons from the TaRL Scaling Journey in Botswana

• In Event: Pathways and architecture to scale: Learning from programs working at scale to improve learning outcomes

Proposal

The Ministry of Basic Education and Youth Impact, in partnership with UNICEF and USAID, have been scaling Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) with a Memorandum of Understanding to reach all schools in the nation by 2026. Since 2016, TaRL has expanded in Botswana from a numeracy pilot in a single school, to a numeracy and literacy program implemented in over 30 percent of primary schools across six out of ten regions of the country. Scaling TaRL has resulted in impressive learning gains in Botswana. Results from 2022 show that the percentage of grade 3 to 5 students who could not do any basic math operations fell from 34 percent to 8 percent, and that 72 percent of students learned a new numerical operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division) during a single school term.

The case of TaRL in Botswana offers a rich example of the scaling and institutionalization process of an evidence-based education program by the government. TaRL's scaling journey in Botswana is unfolding, and this case provides an opportunity to investigate the key facilitating factors, decisions, and barriers that have contributed to the scaling process to date. A series of key lessons have emerged, ranging from (1) seizing opportunities where problems, policies, and priorities converge (2) fostering a culture of flexible adaptation and innovation (3) pursuing demand-driven scaling with a focus on regional champions and (4) using tailored and timely data as fuel for scaling impact.

Authors

• Karen Clune, Youth Impact

• Colin Crossley, Youth Impact

• Moitshepi Matsheng, Youth Impact

• Noam Angrist, Youth Impact; What Works Hub for Global Education, University of Oxford

• Tendekai Mukoyi, Youth Impact