School Attended Last Year Each student was asked if he or she went to “this school last year”. If the student responded no, the assessor asked “did you go to school last year?” and recorded the name of the school down if the student said yes and could provide it. ECE Attendance Depending on the grade of the student being tested, students were asked if (1) they had attended Beginner class, (2) if they had attended Nursery class, and (3) if they had attended Kindergarten. Students in Nursery class, for instance, were not asked if they had attended Kindergarten. ● % Attended 1+ Year of ECE: If students attended Beginner, Nursery, or Kindergarten (or any combination of these), they were counted as having attended at least one year of ECE and included in this percentage. ● If Attended ECE, # of Years: Recorded as one year per ECE grade level the student reported to have attended. An important caveat is that there may be errors in self-reported information (rather than actual differences between groups). Students may not remember whether they attended a particular ECE class the further away they are from that time period in their lives. Alternatively, older students may be more likely to state that they attended ECE even when they did not, due to their interest in providing a socially desirable response. Language Spoken at Home Students were asked to specify the languages that they speak at home. We provided a list of languages most commonly spoken in Liberia, as well as English. From these responses, we were able to calculate the following: ● % Speak English at Home Meals Students were asked three different questions about the meals that they had eaten both the day prior to and the day on which they were assessed. We then measured the following: ● % Ate Lunch Day Before ● % Ate Dinner Day Before ● % Ate Breakfast Morning of Assessment Reading at Home Students were asked if someone read with them at home, and if so, who (e.g., mother, father, grandparent, etc.). We used student responses to calculate the following: ● % Someone Reads at Home ● If Someone Reads, % Mother or Father
Radio Students were asked a series of questions about radios: (1) did the student have a radio in his or her home, (2) did the student listen to the radio, and (3) if so, who did the student listen to the radio with (e.g., mother, father, uncle, grandparent, and/or friend). Student responses were used to calculate the following: ● % Has Radio ● % Listens to Radio ● % Listens to Radio, % with Mother or Father Television Students were asked a series of questions about televisions, including the following: (1) did the student have a TV in his or her home, (2) did the student watch TV, and (3) if so, who did the student listen to the TV with (e.g., mother, father, uncle, grandparent, and/or friend). ● % Has TV ● % Watches TV ● If Watches TV, % with Mother or Father Electricity Students were asked if they have electricity in their homes (this was then used to calculate the variable “% Has Electricity”). Asset Index We calculated an “asset” index by adding the “has cellphone,” “has radio,” and “has television” at home variables together and dividing by three. School Activities with Parents Index We calculated a “school activity with parents” index by adding the “does homework with parents” and “reads with parents” variables together and dividing by two. Other Activities with Parents Index We calculated the “other activity with parents” index by adding the “watches TV with parent” and “listens to radio with parents” variables together and dividing by two. A3.2 Baseline Student Characteristics The following table shows the demographic data by school type with data from all students assessed at baseline.
Homework Assistance Students were asked if someone assisted them with their homework, and if so, whom (e.g., mother, father, grandparent, etc.). Student responses were used to calculate the following: ● % Someone Helps with Homework ● If Someone Helps, % Mother or Father Cellphone Students were asked if anyone has a cellphone in his or her home. Student responses were used to calculate the variable “% Has Cellphone” Learning in Liberia: Literacy and Numeracy Gains in Year 1
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Learning in Liberia: Literacy and Numeracy Gains in Year 1
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