Table A2: Indices constructed from pupil and caregiver reports Index
Description
Pre-specified?
Local content knowledge
Based on a subset of science and social studies items that represent local content specific to Kenya/East Africa.The items were identified by the research team and the final score was computed using IRT (see PAPSA). Only for standard 3 and above.
Yes
Instructional adaptation
The pupil survey asked “Last year, if you were falling behind in class, did your teachers or school give you extra help for example extra classes, or different classes or readings or exercises?” and “Last year, if you were ahead of your classmates, did your teachers or school give you extra help for example extra classes, or different classes or readings or exercises?” Caregivers were asked the same questions about the pupil’s school. The two responses on both the pupil and caregiver surveys are combined into a single index by standardizing the items and taking the average of the standardized responses. The result is standardized to the distribution of scholarship non-recipients in the main samples.
Yes
Higher-order skills
Same as subject knowledge index but excludes items that may reflect recalling information or rote memorization. Items identified prior to analysis. Final score was computed using IRT.
No
Classroom crowding
This index combines pupil responses on four items: 1) “Were there any children who did not have a desk or chair in your classes?”, 2) “In your classroom at [school], did some pupils bother others?”, 3) “Did some pupils fight?”, and 4) “Did outside noises make it hard to hear your teacher?”. Items are signed so that more positive values indicate more crowded classrooms. Same standardization procedure as instructional adaptation index
No
Teacher-classroom engagement
Combines six items from the pupil survey: 1) “if you didn’t understand something, your teachers explained it another way”, 2) “your teacher asked questions to be sure you were following along”, 3) “how often did teachers ask questions to students”, 4) “how often did students ask questions to teachers”, 5) “teachers only asked certain students questions”, and 6) “when my teachers were grading my work, they wrote on my papers to help me understand”. Items were only asked for pupils in primary school, so only the oldest cohort of the pre-primary sample have this outcome. Same standardization procedure as instructional adaptation index
No
Test preparation
Combines two items from the pupil survey that are intended to capture the amount of practice that pupils have received prior to the test: 1) “You spent a lot of time practicing taking exams” and 2) “a lot of class time was spent on getting you prepared to take a test”. Same standardization procedure as instructional adaptation index.
No
Parental engagement
This index combines four responses from the caregiver survey: 1) an indicator for whether someone in the household is on the pupil’s school committee, 2) an indicator for whether the caregiver knows the pupil’s class rank, 3) the number of times the caregiver reported meeting with the pupil’s teacher in the past year, and 4) the number of times the caregiver reported meeting the head teacher in the past year. Same standardization procedure as instructional adaptation index.
No
A8