M&E

better data. better schools.

Data in Angola is scarce. The Ministry of Education (MED) does not have a coherent method for tracking student achievement and learning outcomes. The system primarily relies on handwritten records making data sharing, evaluation, and analysis nearly impossible. Educational data and statistics are vital in policy development, but the MED does not have the capacity to collect, evaluate, and utilize these resources. According to the World Bank (2019), a paucity of data is one of the primary factors contributing to the learning crisis in Angola.

Since 2003… RISE has built 201 schools (two are under construction) which give over 147,000 kids access to education each year!

With a focus on expansion of our Monitoring & Evaluation component, info is tracked in our database. The timeline shows the number of schools, classrooms, and students per year, including a photo and map of the location.

Better data means better schools.

EAC Project Accomplishments & Findings

In partnership with ExxonMobil and Educate A Child (EAC), RISE began tracking individual out-of-school children (OOSC) in 2017. Monitoring and Evaluation played a vital role in this partnership as EAC required individual enrollment, attendance, and retention data. RISE utilized this as an opportunity to create a more thorough dataset detailing the background of individual students in order to obtain a more complete picture of OOSC as they begin their primary education. Utilizing questionnaires and interviews, we collect personal information about OOSC’s home, family, health, et cetera. All of the data collected is then entered into our database along with attendance and end of year results.

 Homes

• 51% have electricity at home
• 13% have indoor plumbing/running water in their home
• 55% live in permanent cement or tile structures
• 44% live in homes of mud block
• 3% live in grass thatch or tin homes; generally, in areas known for nomadic lifestyle
• 29% have been to the doctor for a physical/general check-up, though “required” to enroll

Exxon Small Project

With funding from ExxonMobil, RISE’s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team conducted a two-year study across four primary schools (2023/24–2024/25) to evaluate whether providing teachers with enhanced teaching resources improves student Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN).

Enrollment Key Findings & Methodology

• Assessment Scope: The M&E team conducted 2,750 student evaluations using modified versions of RTI International’s Early Grade Reading/Mathematics Assessments. Testing expanded beyond grades 2–3 to include grades 4–6 and accelerated classes due to widespread low baseline skills.
• Control Adjustment: Baseline FLN levels varied too drastically between initial control and intervention schools for direct comparison. To solve this, the team turned the original control school, Vila Graça, into its own intervention site in year two, using its year-one results as the control baseline.
• Core Conclusion: While all data collected serves valuable in that it proves students are indeed learning regardless of location and resources, the data collected at Vila Graça is particularly useful in that it allows more substantive conclusions regarding the utility of simply providing teachers with access to curriculum. Data from 1,113 evaluations at Vila Graça revealed that simply providing enhanced teaching resources and lesson plans to teachers has little to no impact on student learning outcomes. Further intervention is needed to improve FLN across the board. Although resource access did not measurably boost student test scores, teachers universally reported that the materials facilitated their day-to-day work.