STUDENT LEARNING & SOCIO-EMOTIONAL OUTCOMES
LEAPS research uncovers how students in Pakistan develop both cognitive and socio-emotional skills, and how learning trajectories are shaped by experiences at home, in school, and beyond. The findings highlight early and persistent learning gaps, the harms of grade repetition, and the vital role of family factors like maternal education. Despite wider access to schooling, many students still lag behind expected learning levels—especially in the wake of crises or weak school systems.
Explore the latest evidence below on what drives learning and well-being in Pakistani schools.
Grade Repetition and Household Responses
Authors: Tahir Andrabi, Ethan Matlin, Gabrielle Vasey
Citation: Andrabi, Tahir, Ethan Matlin, and Gabrielle Vasey. 2024. “Grade Repetition and Household Responses in a Low Income Setting”, Working Paper.
Questions and Findings
What are the academic, psychological, and household effects of grade repetition for primary school students, and do these effects differ between government and private schools?
Academic and Dropout Consequences of Grade Repetition Repeating a grade in government schools leads to large and persistent declines in test scores (Math: -0.44 SD, English: -0.27 SD, Urdu: -0.37 SD) that last at least two years. Grade repeaters are 7–8 percentage points more likely to drop out the following year compared to students who are promoted.
Differences Between Government and Private Schools: The negative effects of grade repetition are much weaker and often not statistically significant for private school students compared to government school students.
Psychological and Household Impacts: Grade repetition reduces student confidence and motivation. It also lowers parents’ expectations and investments in their child’s education.
Why This Matters
Grade repetition, while intended as a remedial support, instead imposes a sharp academic penalty—students lose nearly half a standard deviation in test performance and face a markedly increased risk of dropping out. These quantifiable setbacks are not explained by differences in health, background, or teacher judgment, pointing directly to the practice of repetition as the critical driver.
This evidence signals to education policymakers that current promotion policies may substantially worsen the trajectories of at-risk children and increase educational inequality, calling for urgent reevaluation and alternatives to automatic grade retention.
Test Scores and Educational Opportunities
Authors: Jishnu Das, Abhijeet Singh, Andres Yi Chang
Citation: Das, Jishnu, Abhijeet Singh, and Andres Yi Chang. 2022. "Test Scores and Educational Opportunities: Panel Evidence from Five Low- and Middle-Income Countries". Journal of Public Economics, 206: 1-9.
Questions and Findings
How do test scores at age 12 relate to educational attainment by early adulthood in low- and middle-income countries? When and how do socioeconomic status (SES) gaps in test scores and educational attainment emerge and evolve during childhood and adolescence?
Predictive Power of Test Scores: Higher test scores at age 12 are closely linked to 1–2 additional years of schooling by early adulthood across all studied countries, even after accounting for family background.
SES Gaps in Achievement: Significant differences in test scores between high- and low-SES students are already evident by age 12, explaining up to half of the gap in later schooling attainment; in Pakistan the share is smaller, at about 15%.
Stability and Evolution of Gaps: In most countries, SES gaps in test scores are large by age 8 and stay stable through age 15; in Pakistan, the gap widens, mainly due to higher dropout among disadvantaged students in adolescence.
International Consistency: The emergence, persistence, and predictive power of test score and SES gaps follow a similar pattern across Ethiopia, India, Peru, Vietnam, and Pakistan, highlighting widespread challenges in educational equity.
Why This Matters
Understanding when and how learning gaps emerge and persist is critical for shaping education policy in low- and middle-income countries. Early disparities in test scores signal the need for interventions well before adolescence, as these early learning gaps have persistent effects on future educational attainment.
The findings reveal the limitations of later-stage interventions and highlight the urgency of targeting young children from disadvantaged backgrounds to reduce long-term educational inequality. By identifying the period when gaps begin and understanding their trajectory, policymakers and educators can design more effective strategies for equalizing opportunities and improving social mobility.
Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills
Authors: Alice Danon, Jishnu Das, Andreas de Barros, Deon Filmer
Citation: Danon, Alice, Jishnu Das, Andreas de Barros, and Deon Filmer. 2022. “Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills in Low-Income Countries: Construct and Predictive Validity“. RISE Working Paper Series. 23/126.
Questions and Findings
How have schooling options, enrollment, and learning outcomes evolved for children in Pakistan, and what are the main challenges facing the education system?
Diverse Schooling Options: By 2005, one in three primary students attended private schools, which expanded rapidly (from 32,000 to 47,000 schools between 2000 and 2005), including into rural areas.
Active Parental Choice and Private Schooling: Most households have 7–8 schools to choose from in their village; 42% of students attend low-cost private schools, where test scores are higher than in government schools.
Progress in Enrollment, Especially for Girls: Primary net enrollment rose by 10 percentage points nationally (from 51% to 61%) between 2001 and 2005, with the largest gains for rural girls (14-point increase in rural Punjab).
Learning Crisis Despite Increased Access: Despite greater enrollment, many children remain below curricular standards by Class 3; learning levels remain low due to weak assessments and school quality differences.
Why This Matters
A surge in school enrollment and the rapid expansion of affordable private schools in Pakistan have given families unprecedented options for their children’s education. However, higher enrollment rates have not been matched by improvements in learning, as many students continue to fall below basic achievement levels.
The fact that private schools consistently deliver better learning results—even though they are affordable to many families—suggests untapped potential within the system, but also highlights the limitations of relying on enrollment statistics alone. Addressing deep-rooted challenges in quality, system management, and monitoring is essential to ensure that all children, regardless of school type, acquire meaningful skills and knowledge necessary for future success.
New Evidence on Learning Trajectories
Authors: Natalie Bau, Jishnu Das, Andres Yi Chang
Citation: Bau, Natalie, Jishnu Das, and Andres Yi Chang. 2021. "New Evidence on Learning Trajectories in a Low-Income Setting". International Journal of Education Development, 84: 1-26.
Questions and Findings
How do students’ competencies in language and mathematics develop over time in a low-income setting? What factors contribute to or hinder students’ learning progress through primary school?
Learning Gains From Schooling, But Low Mastery Overall: Students show substantial progress between Grades 3 and 6 (test scores increase by 1.19 SD, item performance rises by 20–30 percentage points), yet by Grade 6, learning levels—especially in Math and English—remain far below those in high-income countries.
Importance of Retention: Remaining in school is crucial; students who drop out stop making progress, highlighting the importance of policies supporting school retention for improving both achievement and equity.
Equalizing Effect of Schools: Schools help equalize learning: initially low-performing students make greater gains, narrowing test score differences over time and reducing inequality in foundational skills.
Limited Role for Household Characteristics: Once previous test scores are considered, family wealth and gender explain little additional variation in learning gains; parental education has only a modest impact.
Why This Matters
Understanding how children learn and progress in low-income settings is critical for designing effective education policies and programs. Persistent learning gaps can limit opportunities for millions of children and perpetuate cycles of poverty and inequality. The findings from this study reveal that, although students in disadvantaged contexts face early deficits, primary schools help them make meaningful academic gains, and the achievement gap does not inevitably widen over time.
These insights underscore the value of strengthening school quality and tailoring instruction to students’ needs, rather than relying solely on standard curricula. For policymakers and educators, the results highlight the importance of both supporting ongoing learning and developing responsive teaching strategies to promote equity and opportunity.
Human Capital Accumulation and Disasters
Authors: Tahir Andrabi, Benjamin Daniels, Jishnu Das
Citation: Andrabi, Tahir, Benjamin Daniels, and Jishnu Das. 2021. "Human Capital Accumulation and Disasters: Evidence from the Pakistan Earthquake of 2005." Journal of Human Resources 57 (2).
Questions and Findings
How did the 2005 Pakistan earthquake affect human capital accumulation, particularly children's educational outcomes? Was the provision of post-disaster cash compensation effective in mitigating the negative impacts on human capital?
Impact of Earthquake on Education: Children exposed to the earthquake experienced significant, persistent declines in test scores equivalent to roughly 1.5 years of learning loss.
Effectiveness of Cash Compensation: Post-disaster cash transfers, while substantial, only partially mitigated the negative effects on children’s learning outcomes and did not fully close the gap with unaffected peers.
No Evidence of Physical Catch-Up: Children who suffered educational setbacks did not exhibit “catch-up” growth in test scores in the years after the catastrophe.
Heterogeneity of Impact: The negative impact on learning outcomes was greater for children who were younger at the time of the earthquake and for those in areas with greater destruction.
Why This Matters
These findings highlight that major natural disasters like earthquakes can cause lasting damage to children’s human capital, which has implications for their future economic opportunities and well-being. While post-disaster cash transfers help, they may not be sufficient to undo educational setbacks, especially for young children in severely affected areas.
This suggests that disaster response policies must go beyond immediate cash compensation and prioritize targeted interventions—such as direct support to schools and children—to prevent long-term scarring in education and human capital. The research underscores the need for systemic preparedness and investment in resilient social services to buffer vulnerable populations from the enduring effects of disasters.
Maternal Education and Child Outcomes
Authors: Tahir Andrabi, Jishnu Das, Asim I. Khwaja
Citation: Andrabi, Tahir, Jishnu Das, and Asim I. Khwaja. 2011 "What Did You Do All Day? Maternal Education and Child Outcomes." The Journal of Human Resources, 47 (4): 873-912.
Questions and Findings
Does maternal education at low levels (typical in developing countries) have a causal impact on children’s educational outcomes? Through which channels does maternal education affect children’s time use, helping behavior, and learning outcomes in rural Pakistan?
Significant Increase in Child Study Time: Children of mothers with some education spend 72 more minutes per day on educational activities outside school compared to children of uneducated mothers (IV estimate).
Greater Maternal and Family Involvement: Educated mothers spend 40 extra minutes per day helping with schoolwork in households without children over 12, and their families report 4.6 additional hours per week assisting with or reading to children.
Higher Child Test Scores: Children whose mothers have some education achieve test scores that are 0.23 to 0.35 standard deviations higher in English, Math, and Urdu, after adjusting for selection.
Limited Downstream Effects: Maternal education does not significantly impact child enrollment, educational spending, or maternal bargaining power within the household.
Why This Matters
Improving women's education is widely championed as a catalyst for development, yet most evidence comes from settings with higher schooling levels than those found in many low-income countries. This study shows that even minimal maternal education—common in rural Pakistan—substantially enhances children’s learning by increasing time spent on educational activities and engagement from both mothers and other family members. While greater schooling for mothers does not directly boost enrollment rates or household spending on education, it transforms home learning environments in ways that measurably improve children's academic performance.
The findings underline the policy value of expanding even basic education for girls and women in similar contexts, illuminating a primary pathway—time and effort, not bargaining power—through which low levels of maternal education yield intergenerational benefits crucial for long-term development.