Impact Assessment of Tech-Driven Learning Acceleration Programme in Rural Region of India

The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of the emerging concept of 'learning acceleration' in addressing student's learning gaps and enhancing their learning levels, especially for high-risk students who struggle to pass state board examinations. The study focuses on understanding the impact of the tech-driven Learning Acceleration programme adopted by a remote and rural district - Dumka in Jharkhand State of India. This study examines the learning outcomes of randomly selected sample students from control and treatment groups. The control group included students who had no exposure to the project, while the treatment group included students who were exposed to the tech driven learning acceleration program in Dumka District. The performance of students was evaluated in the Maths subject for Grade 11 and Grade 12 students through the baseline and endline learning assessments deployed during the academic session 2022-23 and also, based on student's interaction with the platform. The impact of the program for students from different socio-economic backgrounds has also been assessed to analyse how useful has been the program to build equity for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. An overall improvement in Academic Performance by 14% in Mathematics was observed for treatment group students. Students from different socio-economic backgrounds - rural regions, low-income families (< INR 10,000 per month, ST/ SC Category, Female Students and first generation learners have shown remarkable improvement in their performance. Treatment group students were able to overcome non-linear learning gaps by bridging their foundational learning gaps while also enhancing their overall understanding of the topic. Also, reduction of high-risk students who struggled to obtain passing scores and has seen a transformational rise in the number of high-performing students. The evidence from the study can help education policy makers to devote attention to learning acceleration as an effective tool to bridge learning gaps aggregated over years among students, especially after COVID-19. [This report is a collaboration between the Dumka District Administration (India) and Filo EdTech Pvt Ltd (India).]