A curated collection of evidence-based education policies across 20 countries. Explore interventions, examine rigorous evaluations, and discover what works.
Mexico's pioneering conditional cash transfer program that provided payments to poor families conditional on children's school attendance and health check-ups.
Key finding: +14 percentage points for 14-year-old boys
Brazil's flagship conditional cash transfer program providing monthly payments to poor families conditional on children's school attendance and health requirements.
Key finding: +5.5%
Colombia's main conditional cash transfer program providing subsidies to poor families for nutrition, education, and health.
Key finding: +5-7 percentage points
Chile's full-school-day reform that extended instructional time from half-day to full-day sessions, requiring massive infrastructure investment.
Key finding: +10%
Uruguay's pioneering one-laptop-per-child program providing free laptops and internet connectivity to all public school students and teachers.
Key finding: Significant increase, especially among low-income students
Chile's nationwide school voucher system allowing families to choose between public and private subsidized schools, with per-student funding following students.
Key finding: Significant increase over decades
Brazil's federal law mandating that public universities reserve 50% of seats for students from public high schools, with sub-quotas for low-income, Black, mixed-race, and indigenous students.
Key finding: Quota students close ~50% of initial gap by graduation
Colombia's merit-based scholarship program providing full tuition and living stipends for high-achieving, low-income students to attend accredited universities.
Key finding: 4.9% vs 10.9% for similar peers
Chile's comprehensive early childhood development system providing universal services from pregnancy through age 4, with enhanced support for vulnerable families.
Key finding: +130% expansion
Brazil's national school feeding program, one of the world's largest, providing free meals to all public school students with mandated local food procurement.
Key finding: 45 million students reached
Peru's conditional cash transfer program providing monthly payments to extremely poor families conditional on children's school attendance and health requirements.
Key finding: Increased, particularly in remote areas
Argentina's universal child allowance providing monthly payments to informal workers' families conditional on school attendance and health requirements.
Key finding: +1.3 percentage points
Brazil's extended school day program offering supplementary activities in arts, sports, and academic support to vulnerable students in public schools.
Key finding: No effect or negative
Mexico's teacher career ladder program providing salary increases based on a points system incorporating student test scores, professional development, and seniority.
Key finding: No significant effect
Chile's education reform ending for-profit schools, eliminating co-payments, and prohibiting selective admissions in subsidized schools to reduce segregation.
Key finding: -16% reduction
High-dosage tutoring program in Colombia providing one-on-one literacy instruction to struggling early-grade readers with persistent positive effects.
Key finding: +0.27 SD (persistent)
Chile's policy providing free higher education tuition for students from the lowest 60% of household income, covering accredited universities and technical institutes.
Key finding: No significant increase
Ecuador's conditional cash transfer providing monthly payments to poor families, with impacts on cognitive development and school enrollment.
Key finding: Improved for poorest quintile children
Honduras's conditional cash transfer providing $10,000 Lempiras annually to extremely poor rural families conditional on school attendance and health compliance.
Key finding: +12%
Ceará state's comprehensive literacy program combining structured materials, teacher training, and municipal incentives that dramatically improved early-grade reading.
Key finding: Increased from 48% to 78% adequate literacy
Low-cost phone-based tutoring intervention during COVID-19 school closures showing significant math learning gains through weekly calls.
Key finding: +0.24 standard deviations
Mexico's constitutional framework and programs providing education in indigenous languages alongside Spanish to preserve cultural heritage and improve indigenous education outcomes.
Key finding: Varied by region and language
Peru's national school feeding program providing free breakfast to public school students, with a focus on local food sourcing and nutritional quality.
Key finding: Positive during school hours
Colombia's national early childhood development policy providing comprehensive services for children from birth to age 5, with focus on most vulnerable populations.
Key finding: Positive effects on cognitive and socio-emotional indicators
Argentina's one-laptop-per-child program distributing over 5 million netbooks to secondary students and teachers in public schools.
Key finding: Significant increase, especially for low-income students
El Salvador's conditional cash transfer program providing incentives for education and health, with evidence showing significant effects when children are exposed from birth.
Key finding: +8 percentage points
Dominican Republic's integrated social protection program combining cash transfers with socioeconomic accompaniment services to promote human capital development.
Key finding: Reached 900,000+ households
Colombia's extended school day program expanding instructional time from 5 to 8 hours, with early evidence suggesting reduced dropout rates.
Key finding: Lower in participating schools
Peru's intercultural bilingual education policy serving indigenous communities in 47 languages, with teacher training through PROEIB Andes.
Key finding: Materials and instruction in 47 languages
Colombia's national school feeding program, one of Latin America's oldest, providing meals to millions of students with decentralized implementation.
Key finding: Over 5 million students reached
Chile's comprehensive teacher evaluation system using portfolios, peer assessment, and self-evaluation to inform professional development and career advancement.
Key finding: Near-universal among public school teachers
Ecuador's comprehensive education law that reformed teacher careers, introduced mandatory evaluations, and significantly changed the teaching workforce composition.
Key finding: 40,000 teachers retired following reform
Colombia's reformed higher education access program replacing Ser Pilo Paga with broader coverage and focus on public universities.
Key finding: Over 300,000 beneficiaries
Dominican Republic's teacher reform raising entry standards and increasing real teacher wages by 31% from 2012-2016.
Key finding: +31% real increase (2012-2016)
Peru's comprehensive teacher career reform establishing meritocratic evaluation systems and standardized career progression.
Key finding: Single system replaced multiple previous structures
Bolivia's indigenous-centered education reform emphasizing community participation, bilingual instruction, and decolonization of education.
Key finding: Expanded significantly
Ecuador's separate educational track providing instruction in indigenous languages for Kichwa, Shuar, and other indigenous nationalities.
Key finding: Approximately 200,000 students enrolled
Reformed version of Brazil's extended day program with greater focus on literacy and math tutoring in early grades.
Key finding: Positive effects in participating schools
Chile's volunteer-based tutoring programs using trained community members to provide one-on-one reading support for struggling early-grade students.
Key finding: Positive effects on literacy skills
Paraguay's largest conditional cash transfer program targeting extreme poverty through education and health conditionalities.
Key finding: +5-8 percentage points, especially for boys and older children
Guatemala's national school feeding program providing meals based on the human right to food, with cultural and ethnic relevance.
Key finding: Reaches majority of public primary schools
Guatemala's 2025-2035 strategic roadmap to modernize public education through connectivity, devices, and digital skills training.
World Bank-supported project to improve foundational learning, digital competencies, and employability skills for one million Costa Rican students.
Panama's universal scholarship providing annual payments to primary and secondary students conditional on academic performance and attendance.
Haiti's universal free education program (2011-2017) that financed school fees for over 60% of primary students before being discontinued.
Key finding: >60% of primary students
Venezuela's educational missions providing adult literacy (Robinson), secondary completion (Ribas), and higher education access (Sucre).
Key finding: 79.3% agreed missions increased education levels
Mexico's flagship scholarship program replacing Prospera, providing cash transfers to over 13 million students from primary through higher education.
Key finding: 9.2 million beneficiaries (2021)
Brazil's 2024 high school scholarship program providing up to R$9,200 over three years to reduce dropout and encourage graduation.
Key finding: -15% in served regions (preliminary 2024)
Peru's comprehensive higher education scholarship covering full tuition and living expenses for students from the poorest quintiles.
Key finding: Scholarship recipients achieve higher grades than non-recipients
Argentina's scholarship program supporting 1.4 million vulnerable young people to complete secondary and higher education.
Key finding: +4.1 percentage points
Chile's comprehensive reform transferring public schools from municipalities to new Local Education Services (SLEP), the most significant education policy in 40 years.
Key finding: -20% (1.9% to 1.5%) 2022-2024
Dominican Republic's initiative to bridge the digital divide through technology access, infrastructure, and digital skills development.
Key finding: Only 35% of students had access (2021)
Cuba-method literacy campaign launched in 2007 building on Nicaragua's 1980 Literacy Crusade tradition.
Key finding: Illiteracy reduced from 50% to 23%
Cuba's comprehensive public education system that achieved near-universal literacy and topped regional assessments, though facing recent challenges.
Key finding: Illiteracy reduced from 23% to 3.9% in one year
Jamaica's conditional cash transfer program providing benefits to poor households contingent on children's school attendance and health check-ups.
Key finding: +0.5 days per month
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