Beyond the basics: improving post-primary content delivery through classroom technology

Using an a randomized controlled trial in middle schools in Pakistan, the authors test the effect of a government-implemented in-class technology and brief teacher training intervention on student achievement in grade level mathematics and science. After only 4 months of exposure, student achievement increased by 0.2-0.3 standard deviations on math and science tests, 52 to 120 percent more than the control group, and students were more likely to pass the provincially standardized high stakes exams. Increased efforts by both students and teachers indicate a complementarity between technology and other inputs in education production. At a scale of 100 schools, this program is extremely cost-effective.