The Long-Run Benefits of Improved Literacy in Uganda

This study will measure the long-run effects of the Northern Uganda Literacy Project (NULP), a structured pedagogy-based, mother-tongue-first literacy intervention that focuses on training and supporting teachers in grades 1-3. The NULP has been shown to be highly effective in the short run and the vast majority (on average 80%) of reading gains persisted 5-6 years after the program ended. This study will extend a longitudinal subsample of students from the evaluation, followed from grade one in 2014, to age 18 in 2024, and age 21 in 2027. The study will address the following main questions: (1) What are the long-term effects of the NULP? (2) How do improved literacy skills affect subsequent educational, holistic skills, and life outcomes? (3) How do these impacts vary across students? The study will provide some of the first evidence of the importance of early-grade foundational literacy skills on the transition to adulthood.