Many Children Left Behind? Textbooks and Test Scores in Kenya

This project was a joint undertaking of many people. The data were collected and analyzed by Charles Asoka, Najy Benhassine, Marcos Chamon, Edward Drozd, Daniel Haar, Nauman Ilias, Dan Levy, Irene Majale, Sean May, Ted Miguel, Robert Namunyu, Caroline Nekesa, Stacy Nemeroff, Jonah Rockoff, Jaypee Sevilla, Michael Wambetsa, Polycarp Waswa, Stanley Watt, and Maureen Wechuli. Invaluable assistance was provided by the staff of International Christelijk Steunfonds: Chip Bury, Jos Huizinga, Paul Lipeyah, Japheth Mahagwa, Rebecca Mbaisi, and Susan Walji. We are grateful to Joshua Angrist, Angus Deaton, Paul Gertler, Claudia Goldin, Douglas Gollin, Eric Hanushek, Lawrence Katz, Marlaine Lockheed, Richard Murnane, Steve Pischke, and Duncan Thomas for advice and comments. Finally, we are grateful to Joash Patrice Munala, the District Education Officer of Busia, to the late George Buluma, the inspector of primary schools in Busia, and to the headmasters, teachers, and students of the participating schools. The costs of this evaluation were covered by the National Science Foundation and the World Bank research committee. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, the countries they represent, or the National Bureau of Economic Research.