Assessment of Changes in Secondary School Learning Outcomes in Post-COVID-19 Bhutan

NO.255 AUGUST2023 KEYPOINTS •Comparisonofthe2019and2021secondaryschoolexamdatashowsthattestscoresinDzongkha(nationallanguage),English,and Scienceonlydroppedslightlyinabsoluteterms. ADBBRIEFS AssessmentofChangesinSecondarySchoolLearningOutcomesin Post-COVID-19Bhutan •Theperformancegapsbetweengroupsthatexistedbeforethepandemicdidnotsignificantlywidenduringthelimitedschoolclosuresthatoccurredinhighergrades. •Asidefrompastperformance,severalfactorspredicted post-closureexamperformance,includinghavinganeducatedparentandcomputeraccessathome. •Learningenvironmentvariablessuchasaccesstocomputersandboardingfacilitiesappeartohavebeenimportantforpreventing RyotaroHayashi SocialSectorEconomist HumanandSocialDevelopmentSectorOffice,SectorsGroupAsianDevelopmentBank(ADB) XyleeJavier Consultant EconomicResearchandDevelopmentImpactDepartment(ERDI),ADB INTRODUCTION DavidRaitzer Economist EconomicAnalysisandOperationalSupportDivision ERDI,ADB MilanThomas Economist BhutanResidentMissionADB learninglosses. •Thegovernmentprioritizedschoolreopeningforsecondaryschoolstudentsscheduledtotake high-stakesexaminations,whichcouldhaveaccountedfortherelativelysmalllearningloss.COVID-19impactsonprimaryandlowersecondaryschoolstudentsremaincriticalareasforfutureanalysis. EducationsystemperformanceinBhutanhasbeenrelativelystrongcomparedwithothercountriesatasimilarlevelofeconomicdevelopment.Forinstance,thecountry’saveragescoreontheProgrammeforInternationalStudentAssessmentforDevelopmentconductedbytheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationand Developmentin2019iscomparabletothatoftop-performingparticipatingcountriesinalldomains(BhutanCouncilforSchoolExaminationsandAssessment2019). Likemostothercountries,however,Bhutanhadtocloseitsschoolstocontainthespreadofthecoronavirusdisease(COVID-19).Akeyquestioniswhetherschoolclosureaffectedthelevelofeducationalprogressthathadbeenachievedpre-pandemic. ISBN978-92-9270-306-6(print) ISBN978-92-9270-307-3(electronic) ISSN2071-7202(print) ISSN2218-2675(electronic)PublicationStockNo.BRF230329-2 DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/BRF23329-2 Notes:ThisbriefwaspeerreviewedbyRheaMolato,associateeconomicsofficer,EconomicResearchandDevelopmentImpactDepartment,AsianDevelopmentBank(ADB);andJukkaTulivuori,socialsectorspecialist,HumanandSocialDevelopmentSectorOffice(HSD),SectorsGroup,ADB.TheauthorsarealsogratefulforthereviewandvaluableinputsfromUnikaShrestha,socialsectoreconomist,HSD, SectorsGroup,ADB.Theauthorsappreciatethedata,feedback,andsupportprovidedbytheMinistryofEducationandSkillsDevelopment,RoyalGovernmentofBhutanandtheBhutanCouncilforSchoolExaminationsandAssessment. Allschoolswereclosedon18March2020.InJuly2020,schoolsservingClassXandXIIwerereopened.Theywereprioritizedforreopeningbecauseofthehigh-stakesexaminationstakenattheendofthosegrades:ResultsinClassXontheBhutanCertificateofSecondaryEducation(BCSE)examdeterminecontinuationtouppersecondaryschool(ClassXIandXII),whileClassXIIresultsontheBhutanHigherSecondaryEducationCertificate(BHSEC)examdeterminecontinuationtohighereducation(Figure1). WhilelockdownswerereimposedinAugustandDecember2020,secondaryschoolsservingClassXandXIIwerekeptopeninlightoftheimpendingboardexams.Thus,schoolclosuresforuppersecondarystudentswerelessthanhalfthelengthofthoseforprimaryandlowersecondaryschoolstudents. TheGovernmentofBhutantookcomprehensivemeasuresthroughtheMinistryofEducationtomitigatetheimpactofschoolclosuresonstudents.Inadditiontosocialsafetynetstargetedtovulnerablehouseholds,education-specificpoliciesincludedsupportforhome-basedinstructionmethods(e.g.,radio, television,socialmedia,printedmaterials,GoogleClassrooms)andcurriculumprioritization,withsubjectsstrippeddownto65%ofmaterialdeemedcorebyacurriculumcommittee.WhilevideolessonsbroadcastontheBhutanBroadcastingServiceswerethecoreremoteinstructionmode,71%ofschoolssupplementedthelessonswithsocialmediaapps(MinistryofEducation,HelvetasBhutan,andUNICEF2021).Additionalmeasuresweretaken fordisadvantagedandvulnerablestudents.Approximately30,000secondaryschoolstudentshadpoorinternetconnectionandnotelevisionaccess;therefore,printedself-instructionalmaterialsweredevelopedanddisseminated.Repurposingschool facilitiestoincreaseboardingcapacityandmovingstudentsfromnon-boardingtoboardingschoolswerealsopartsofBhutan’sCOVID-19educationresponse.ClassXandXIIstudentsinhigh-riskareasforCOVID-19infectionweremovedtooneofBhutan’s177boardingschoolssothattheireducationcouldcontinueuninterrupted. Asthepandemichasended,schoolsworldwidehavereturnedtobusiness-as-usual.Butasin-personinstructionandassessmentresumed,emergingevidenceshowsschoolclosurescausedseriouslearningsetbacksinsomecontexts,especiallyforstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholdswithlesseducatedparents(ADB2022).Basedoncross-countrycalculationsbyHanushekandWoessman(2020),studentsareexpectedtohavesuffereda2.6%lossinlifetimeincomeduetoone-thirdofayearofCOVID-19-inducedschoolclosure.YetthereislimitedevidenceontheextenttowhichthisholdstrueforBhutan’spandemicexperience.Giventhecompensatoryactionstakenduringschoolc