Improving learning outcomes

John Richards with Bluebell students March 2024

BHP’s director John Richards and adviser Shahidul Islam recently wrote an editorial for Dhaka’s leading English-language newspaper. In “Education for most Indians is still a ‘bust.' What about Bangladesh?”, they write, “The first step in improving schools in India – and other South Asian countries – is to acknowledge the severity of the problem…. We understand that a one-size-fits-all approach will fail. As such, whichever approaches are taken, community leaders and other stakeholders need to agree on one non-negotiable agenda: improving learning outcomes…. The purpose of evaluation and assessment is not to compare one school with another. Instead, evaluations should aim for knowledge mobilisation and policy advocacy at every level, while keeping all stakeholders informed.” You can read about recent evaluations of Bluebell and OIST students’ performance in earlier blog posts. Both groups performed better than most local schools, and we are hoping to improve further.