Bridging the learning gaps in the time of COVID: Exploring Teaching at the Right Level with the Philippine Department of Education

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) implemented distance learning modalities to ensure learning continuity. DepEd, however, recognizes the challenges in delivering alternative learning modalities to 27.7 million basic education students. Given the challenges of distance learning and unequal access to resources, poor-performing and marginalized students may fall further behind. Before the pandemic, issues of quality of basic education have been raised as the Philippines ranked lowest in recent regional and international learning assessments. DepEd is seeking innovative strategies to address problems in education during the pandemic and in achieving learning outcomes as students transition to in-person classes. Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) proposes to conduct exploratory research on Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) with DepEd. TaRL is a potential strategy to address the learning gaps among Filipino students. The J-PAL grant will enable IPA to explore opportunities for DepEd to incorporate TaRL in the Philippine education system.