IPA is partnering with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Youth Impact to implement the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach in Philippine public schools. Building on TaRL's success in India and Africa, and other targeted instruction programs like mEducation, IPA supports data collection, and monitoring and evaluation across eight pilot schools, focusing on tracking learning outcomes and implementation challenges to inform potential program expansion.

In response to significant learning gaps exacerbated by pandemic-related school closures, the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) is prioritizing strategies to strengthen students' foundational math skills. A survey conducted by DepEd teachers of the schools participating in the study reveals the following statistics: 59 percent of students in Grades 3-5 cannot perform basic mathematical operations, and among 5th graders, fewer than 10 percent can complete subtraction problems. As DepEd implements its National Math Program as part of its learning recovery plan, there is a critical opportunity to integrate evidence-based interventions that can help elementary students build strong math foundations.

Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), developed by Indian education organization Pratham, has demonstrated significant success in improving basic foundational reading and math skills through its innovative approach of grouping students by learning level rather than age or grade. The program combines four key elements: learning-level assessments, targeted instruction, engaging educational materials, and robust implementation monitoring. Since 2001, multiple randomized evaluations in India and Africa have found that the TaRL approach is successful, with students often acquiring more than a year’s worth of math skills in a single program cycle.¹

Building on this evidence and the promising results of another targeted instruction program like mEducation (globally known as ConnectEd), IPA is collaborating with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Youth Impact to adapt and evaluate the TaRL approach in Philippine public schools. The program operates as daily 30-minute to one-hour sessions in addition to the regular class schedule, currently serving 865 students across eight schools in Luzon and Mindanao. Teachers assess students' math skills and organize them into groups based on learning levels rather than grade or age with 10-25 learners per class, engaging them in interactive activities designed to strengthen foundational math skills. The program follows a six-week cycle with three key assessments: initial evaluation for group formation, midpoint assessment for instructional adjustments, and final assessment to measure progress, with students advancing to more challenging material upon achieving 70 percent mastery.

School principals and district supervisors oversee the program's implementation, while IPA supports data collection efforts to track student learning outcomes and identify operational challenges, such as maintaining consistent student participation in daily sessions and effectively delivering the program in classrooms that often exceed 40 students. The collected data will inform future refinements and potential expansion of the program.

Results will be available in 2025.

Sources

¹  “Teaching at the Right Level to Improve Learning.” 2018. The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). 2018. https://www.povertyactionlab.org/case-study/teaching-right-level-improve-learning.

Implementing Partner