Michelle Kaffenberger
Biographic Data
| ID | 1842237 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michelle Kaffenberger |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michelle |
| FAMILY NAME | Kaffenberger |
| SIGNATURE | KAFFENBERGER M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Oxford |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7987-9649 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 44 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Instructional alignment in Nigeria using the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum
Child literacy in low- and middle-income countries
The role of learning in school persistence and dropout
Using longitudinal quantitative and qualitative data we examine the role that learning plays in school persistence and dropout in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. Regression analysis shows a strong, significant association, with one standard deviation higher test scores associated with 50% lower odds of dropping out between the ages of 8 and 12, and a similar association between ages 12 and 15. Qualitative analysis indicates a direct relations…
Measuring education system coherence
While instructional coherence is important for student learning, structured analysis of such coherence, especially in low- and middle-income countries and at a systems level, is rare. We use an established methodology, the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum, and apply it in Tanzania and Uganda to systematically analyze and quantify the content and coherence of the primary curriculum standards, national examinations, and actual teaching delivered in th…
Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe
We model learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for cost-effective strategies to build back better. Data from Early Grade Reading Assessments in Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, and Uganda suggest half to over a year’s worth of learning loss. In modeling losses over time, we found that learning deficits for a child in grade 3 could lead to 2.8 years of lost learning by grade 10. While COVID-19 has stymied learning, bold…
A structured model of the dynamics of student learning in developing countries, with applications to policy
Learning trajectories vary amazingly widely across countries, regions, and individual students in dynamic ways. In this paper we develop a parametrized structural model of the dynamics of the learning process and use the model for suggestive policy applications. We first synthesize the existing empirical literature on learning profiles, which suggest a clear set of parameters that formally characterize the learning process. We then calibrate this…
Using learning profiles to inform education priorities
This special issue explores the use of learning profiles for analysing the dynamics of low learning in low- and middle-income countries and informing priorities to address the learning crisis. The 12 papers in the special issue draw on learning data from more than 50 countries and 6 million individuals, with implications for education policy and practice. Taken together, they point to a need to steepen learning trajectories by prioritizing early …
Effective investment in women's futures
Women's schooling has long been regarded as one of the best investments in development. Yet countries vary widely in the extent to which a year of schooling conveys useful skills and knowledge and hence schooling and education cannot be treated as synonyms. Using two different cross-nationally comparable data sets which contain measures of schooling, assessments of literacy, and life outcomes for more than 50 countries we show the association of …
Aiming higher
Global education goals have many aims, among them universal basic schooling, universal literacy and numeracy, and gender equality. We use unique, nationally representative data on adult learning outcomes to examine the link between schooling and literacy in ten low- and middle-income countries. We simulate scenarios of increasing school grade attainment, increasing learning per year, and achieving gender equality, and examine learning outcomes in…
Modelling the long-run learning impact of the Covid-19 learning shock
This paper uses a calibrated "pedagogical production function" model to estimate the potential long-term losses to children's learning from the temporary shock of Covid-19 related school closures. It then models possible gains from two mitigation strategies. Without mitigation, children could lose more than a full year's worth of learning from a three-month school closure because they will be behind the curriculum when they re-enter school and wi…
Modelling the long-run learning impact of the Covid-19 learning shock
This paper uses a calibrated "pedagogical production function" model to estimate the potential long-term losses to children's learning from the temporary shock of Covid-19 related school closures. It then models possible gains from two mitigation strategies. Without mitigation, children could lose more than a full year's worth of learning from a three-month school closure because they will be behind the curriculum when they re-enter school and wi…
Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe
We model learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for cost-effective strategies to build back better. Data from Early Grade Reading Assessments in Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, and Uganda suggest half to over a year’s worth of learning loss. In modeling losses over time, we found that learning deficits for a child in grade 3 could lead to 2.8 years of lost learning by grade 10. While COVID-19 has stymied learning, bold…
A structured model of the dynamics of student learning in developing countries, with applications to policy
Learning trajectories vary amazingly widely across countries, regions, and individual students in dynamic ways. In this paper we develop a parametrized structural model of the dynamics of the learning process and use the model for suggestive policy applications. We first synthesize the existing empirical literature on learning profiles, which suggest a clear set of parameters that formally characterize the learning process. We then calibrate this…
Effective investment in women's futures
Women's schooling has long been regarded as one of the best investments in development. Yet countries vary widely in the extent to which a year of schooling conveys useful skills and knowledge and hence schooling and education cannot be treated as synonyms. Using two different cross-nationally comparable data sets which contain measures of schooling, assessments of literacy, and life outcomes for more than 50 countries we show the association of …
Aiming higher
Global education goals have many aims, among them universal basic schooling, universal literacy and numeracy, and gender equality. We use unique, nationally representative data on adult learning outcomes to examine the link between schooling and literacy in ten low- and middle-income countries. We simulate scenarios of increasing school grade attainment, increasing learning per year, and achieving gender equality, and examine learning outcomes in…
Using learning profiles to inform education priorities
This special issue explores the use of learning profiles for analysing the dynamics of low learning in low- and middle-income countries and informing priorities to address the learning crisis. The 12 papers in the special issue draw on learning data from more than 50 countries and 6 million individuals, with implications for education policy and practice. Taken together, they point to a need to steepen learning trajectories by prioritizing early …
Aiming higher
Global education goals have many aims, among them universal basic schooling, universal literacy and numeracy, and gender equality. We use unique, nationally representative data on adult learning outcomes to examine the link between schooling and literacy in ten low- and middle-income countries. We simulate scenarios of increasing school grade attainment, increasing learning per year, and achieving gender equality, and examine learning outcomes in…
Modelling the long-run learning impact of the Covid-19 learning shock
This paper uses a calibrated "pedagogical production function" model to estimate the potential long-term losses to children's learning from the temporary shock of Covid-19 related school closures. It then models possible gains from two mitigation strategies. Without mitigation, children could lose more than a full year's worth of learning from a three-month school closure because they will be behind the curriculum when they re-enter school and wi…
Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe
We model learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for cost-effective strategies to build back better. Data from Early Grade Reading Assessments in Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, and Uganda suggest half to over a year’s worth of learning loss. In modeling losses over time, we found that learning deficits for a child in grade 3 could lead to 2.8 years of lost learning by grade 10. While COVID-19 has stymied learning, bold…
A structured model of the dynamics of student learning in developing countries, with applications to policy
Learning trajectories vary amazingly widely across countries, regions, and individual students in dynamic ways. In this paper we develop a parametrized structural model of the dynamics of the learning process and use the model for suggestive policy applications. We first synthesize the existing empirical literature on learning profiles, which suggest a clear set of parameters that formally characterize the learning process. We then calibrate this…
Using learning profiles to inform education priorities
This special issue explores the use of learning profiles for analysing the dynamics of low learning in low- and middle-income countries and informing priorities to address the learning crisis. The 12 papers in the special issue draw on learning data from more than 50 countries and 6 million individuals, with implications for education policy and practice. Taken together, they point to a need to steepen learning trajectories by prioritizing early …
Effective investment in women's futures
Women's schooling has long been regarded as one of the best investments in development. Yet countries vary widely in the extent to which a year of schooling conveys useful skills and knowledge and hence schooling and education cannot be treated as synonyms. Using two different cross-nationally comparable data sets which contain measures of schooling, assessments of literacy, and life outcomes for more than 50 countries we show the association of …
Measuring education system coherence
While instructional coherence is important for student learning, structured analysis of such coherence, especially in low- and middle-income countries and at a systems level, is rare. We use an established methodology, the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum, and apply it in Tanzania and Uganda to systematically analyze and quantify the content and coherence of the primary curriculum standards, national examinations, and actual teaching delivered in th…
The role of learning in school persistence and dropout
Using longitudinal quantitative and qualitative data we examine the role that learning plays in school persistence and dropout in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. Regression analysis shows a strong, significant association, with one standard deviation higher test scores associated with 50% lower odds of dropping out between the ages of 8 and 12, and a similar association between ages 12 and 15. Qualitative analysis indicates a direct relations…
Child literacy in low- and middle-income countries
Instructional alignment in Nigeria using the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum
Psychology (9 works) · Mathematics education (7 works) · Economics (6 works) · Pedagogy (6 works) · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare (6 works) · School Choice and Performance (6 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Curriculum (4 works) · Economic growth (4 works) · Medicine (4 works)