Experimental evidence on scaling up education reforms in Kenya

What constraints arise when translating successful NGO programs to improve public services in developing countries into government policy? We report on a randomized trial embedded within a nationwide reform of teacher hiring in Kenyan government primary schools. New teachers offered a fixed-term contract by an international NGO significantly raised student test scores, while teachers offered identical contracts by the Kenyan government produced zero impact. Observable differences in teacher characteristics explain little of this gap. Instead, data suggests that bureaucratic and political opposition to the contract reform led to implementation delays and a differential interpretation of identical contract terms. Additionally, contract features that produced larger learning gains in both the NGO and government treatment arms were not adopted by the government outside of the experimental sample. •We report on a randomized trial embedded within a nationwide reform to teacher hiring in Kenyan government primary schools.•Teachers on identical contracts in public schools produced higher learning gains if hired by an international NGO rather than the government.•Observable differences in teacher characteristics explain little of this gap.•Opposition to the government’s use of contract teachers led to differences in implementation and interpretation of identical contract terms.•Contract features that produced larger learning gains were not adopted by the government outside the experimental sample.