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Textbooks and test scores: Evidence from a prospective evaluation in kenya

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  • Paul Glewwe
  • Michael Kremer
  • Sylvie Moulin

Abstract

Although there is intense debate about the effect of increased expenditure on education in developed countries, there is widespread consensus that provision of textbooks can substantially increase test scores in developing countries. This paper evaluates a program through which a Dutch non-profit organization provided textbooks to 25 rural Kenyan primary schools that were chosen randomly from a group of 100 candidate schools. After one school year, average test scores did not differ substantially between program and comparison schools. However, for those students in the top quintile of the distribution of initial academic achievement, the program raised test scores by at least 0.2 standard deviations.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Glewwe & Michael Kremer & Sylvie Moulin, 1998. "Textbooks and test scores: Evidence from a prospective evaluation in kenya," Natural Field Experiments 00255, The Field Experiments Website.
    • Handle: RePEc:feb:natura:00255
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ted Miguel, 1999. "Ethnic Diversity, Mobility and School Funding: Theory and Evidence From Kenya," STICERD - Development Economics Papers - From 2008 this series has been superseded by Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers 14, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    2. Miguel, Edward & Gugerty, Mary Kay, 2005. "Ethnic diversity, social sanctions, and public goods in Kenya," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(11-12), pages 2325-2368, December.
    3. Lipscomb, Molly & Mobarak Mushfiq, Ahmed & Bahram, Tania, 2011. "Development effects of electrification: evidence from the geologic placement of hydropower plants in Brazil," Research Department working papers 218, CAF Development Bank Of Latinamerica.
    4. Fuje,Habtamu Neda & Tandon,Prateek, 2015. "When do in-service teacher training and books improve student achievement ? experimental evidence from Mongolia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7485, The World Bank.
    5. Deininger, Klaus, 2003. "Does cost of schooling affect enrollment by the poor? Universal primary education in Uganda," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 291-305, June.
    6. Miguel, Edward A., 2001. "Ethnic Diversity and School Funding in Kenya," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt0101m00c, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    7. World Bank Group, 2015. "Public Expenditure Review of the Education Sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo," World Bank Publications - Reports 22932, The World Bank Group.

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