School effectiveness in Zambia: The origins of differences between rural and urban outcomes

Figures & data

Figure 1: Literacy test scores by school location

Table 1: Frequency of grades repeated, by school location

	Rural	Urban
0	40%	56%
1	44%	31%
2	12%	6%
3	3%	7%
Total	100%	100%

Figure 2: Pupil–teacher ratios by school location

Table 2: Frequency of homework corrected in English class, by school location

	Rural	Urban
No homework given	34%	29%
Homework never corrected	7%	4%
Homework sometimes corrected	25%	22%
Homework corrected most of the time	17%	19%
Homework always corrected	15%	26%
Total	100%	100%

Table 3: Full inspection of school in past two years, by school location

	Rural	Urban
No full inspection	57%	40%
Full inspection	43%	60%
Total	100%	100%

Table 4: Going without meals, by school location

	Rural	Urban
Pupil does not normally miss any meals in a week	43%	65%
Pupil normally misses at least one meal a week	57%	35%
Total	100%	100%

Table 5: Frequency of receiving help with homework, by school location

	Rural	Urban
No homework	3%	1%
Never	19%	13%
Sometimes	56%	61%
Most of the time	22%	25%
Total	100%	100%

Figure 3: Pupil absenteeism by school location

Figure 4: Asset index by school location

Figure 5: Years of education of pupils' mothers, by school location

Figure 6: Parental assistance index by school location

Table 6: Impact of resources on schools

	Full sample		Sample of urban schools		Sample of rural schools
	Coefficient	p-value	Coefficient	p-value	Coefficient	p-value
Average years of education for parents	4.74	0	8.25	0	2.97	0
Asset index	9.19	0	3.96	0.01	5.16	0.01
Pupil–teacher ratio for school	–0.05	0.04	–0.58	0.05	–0.06	0.04
Proportion of pupils who speak English frequently	49.6	0	105.86	0	35.85	0
Constant	355.88	0	303.14	0	372.4	0
R-squared	0.48		0.38		0.26
Sample size	169		71		98

Figure 7: Parental education and average pupil reading test scores

Figure 8: Asset index and average pupil reading test scores

Figure 9: Pupil–teacher ratio and average pupil reading test scores

Figure 10: Proportion regularly speaking English outside school and average pupil reading test scores

Table 7: Impact of one standard deviation change on school outcomes

	Full sample			Sample of urban schools			Sample of rural schools
	Coefficient	Standard deviation	Estimated average impact	Coefficient	Standard deviation	Estimated average impact	Coefficient	Standard deviation	Estimated average impact
Average years of education for parents	4.74	2.31	10.95	8.25	1.91	15.76	2.97	2.21	6.56
Asset index	9.19	1.9	17.46	3.96	1.59	6.30	5.16	1.15	5.93
Pupil–teacher ratio for school	–0.05	42.4	–2.12	–0.58	41.94	–24.33	–0.06	51.57	–3.09
Proportion of pupils who speak English frequently	49.6	0.28	13.89	105.86	0.15	15.88	35.85	0.3	10.76

Table 8: Oaxaca decomposition of the rural–urban gap in school outcomes

	Test score
Average test score for schools with rural levels of resources in rural circumstances	409.79
Average test score for schools with urban levels of resources in rural circumstances	440.55
Average test score for schools with urban levels of resources in urban circumstances	465.44
	Test score	Percentage
Rural–urban gap in test score	55.65	12%
Rural–urban gap in test score attributed to differences in resources	30.76	55%
Rural–urban gap in test score attributed to differences in returns to resources	24.89	45%
Note: According to this method the rural–urban gap is defined as the difference between the predicted test scores of the urban schools according to a model of urban schools (i.e. urban resources and urban returns to resources) and the predicted test scores of rural schools based on a rural schools model (i.e. rural resources and rural returns to resources). This rural–urban gap is then decomposed to see how much of the gap can be attributed to differences in resources and how much to different rates of return to resources.

Table A1: List of asset index variables and their assigned weights

Variable	Assigned weight
Does home where pupil stays have radio?	0.162
Does home where pupil stays have TV?	0.312
Does home where pupil stays have VCR?	0.178
Does home where pupil stays have telephone?	0.193
Does home where pupil stays have car?	0.141
Does home where pupil stays have piped water?	0.297
Does home where pupil stays have electricity?	0.312
Does pupil normally skip one or more meal a week?	-0.173
Is the floor of the home where pupil stays made mostly of earth or clay, or does it have no covering?	-0.336
Is the floor of the home where pupil stays made mostly of canvas?	-0.018
Is the floor of the home where pupil stays made mostly of wooden planks?	-0.009
Is the floor of the home where pupil stays made mostly of cement?	0.270
Is the floor of the home where pupil stays covered mostly with carpet or tiles?	0.112
Are the outside walls of the home where pupil stays made mostly of cardboard, plastic sheeting or canvas?	-0.021
Are the outside walls of the home where pupil stays made mostly of reeds, sticks or thatch grass?	-0.123
Are the outside walls of the home where pupil stays made mostly of stone or mud bricks?	-0.224
Are the outside walls of the home where pupil stays made mostly of metal sheets or asbestos sheets?	0.020
Are the outside walls of the home where pupil stays made mostly of wood?	-0.006
Are the outside walls of the home where pupil stays made mostly of cut stone, concrete blocks or burned bricks?	0.289
Is the roof of the home where pupil stays made mostly of cardboard, plastic sheeting or canvas?	-0.003
Is the roof of the home where pupil stays made mostly of thatch grass or mud?	-0.348
Is the roof of the home where pupil stays made mostly of metal sheets or asbestos sheets?	0.315
Is the roof the home where pupil stays made mostly of cement or concrete?	0.053
Is the roof of the home where pupil stays made mostly of tiles?	0.024

Figure B1: Errors for school outcomes model for full sample

Figure B2: Errors for school outcomes model for urban schools

Figure B3: Errors for school outcomes model for rural schools

Figure C1: Actual and predicted test scores using school outcomes model for full sample

Figure C2: Actual and predicted urban test scores using school outcomes model for full sample

Figure C3: Actual and predicted rural school test scores using school outcomes model for full sample

Figure C4: Actual and predicted test scores using school outcomes model for urban schools (using urban schools model)

Figure C5: Actual and predicted test scores using school outcomes model for rural schools (using rural schools model)