December 11, 2025
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Expanding Opportunity Through Digital Learning
Across many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, educators face a dual challenge: improving foundational literacy and numeracy while also building the digital skills students need for the future. In the Volta Region of Ghana, a bold partnership set out to address both.
The Learning Upgrade (LU) Program, supported by high-speed internet connectivity through Starlink devices, was implemented in six schools across four districts: Ho West, Agortime Ziope, Adaklu, and Ho Central. The initiative aimed to strengthen English and Mathematics performance while building digital confidence among learners from Basic 1 through SHS 3.
After one year of implementation, an independent impact evaluation was conducted by Selorm Mensah, PhD Candidate at the University for Development Studies, Ghana, to assess whether the program was truly making a difference.
The results tell a powerful story.
A Rigorous Approach to Measuring Impact
Because baseline data had not been collected at the program’s launch, evaluators employed a quasi-experimental post-test-only design. Six treatment schools implementing Learning Upgrade and receiving Starlink connectivity were carefully matched with six comparable control schools that had not yet adopted the intervention.
Schools were matched on:
Gender distribution
Mean age
Grade-level composition
Rural/urban location
Public/private status
Balance tests showed no statistically significant differences between treatment and control schools across these characteristics. This strong comparability strengthens confidence that observed differences in outcomes are attributable to Learning Upgrade rather than pre-existing differences.
A total of 517 learners participated in the assessment:
303 female learners
214 male learners
Sampling was stratified to ensure adequate female representation, with 59% girls and 41% boys included.
Headline Results: A 32% Improvement in Foundational Learning
The most striking finding is the overall academic improvement.
Treatment schools average score: 58%
Control schools average score: 44%
Overall improvement: 14 percentage points
Relative increase: 32%
In just one year, learners using Learning Upgrade significantly outperformed their peers in schools without the intervention.
These gains were not marginal. They represent accelerated learning progress across multiple grade levels.
English Gains: Literacy Accelerated
English performance showed strong improvement:
Control schools: 47%
Treatment schools: 61%
Gain: 14 percentage points
Relative improvement: 30%
This improvement aligns with learner-reported confidence:
72% of learners in treatment schools reported being confident or very confident in reading and writing.
Only 2% reported low confidence.
English scores in mainstream end-of-term exams also demonstrated steady growth over time:
Term 1: 48%
Term 3: 62%
This 29% improvement suggests sustained reinforcement of literacy skills, not short-term test performance spikes.
Mathematics Gains: Closing Gaps and Building Confidence
Mathematics showed even stronger relative impact:
Control schools: 40%
Treatment schools: 56%
Gain: 16 percentage points
Relative improvement: 40%
This is particularly significant in contexts where math proficiency often lags behind literacy.
Term-by-term performance trends indicate:
Rapid gains in early terms
Stabilization in later terms
This suggests the program delivers strong early numeracy reinforcement, though continued targeted support may further sustain momentum.
Gender Equity: Closing the Mathematics Gap
One of the most powerful findings concerns gender equity.
In control schools:
Girls scored 39% in Mathematics
Boys scored 42%
In treatment schools:
Girls scored 56%
Boys scored 56%
The gender gap in Mathematics was completely closed.
In English:
Girls: 63%
Boys: 59%
Both genders improved substantially, with slight narrowing of disparities.
Learning Upgrade did not just raise performance — it made achievement more equitable.
Consistency Matters: Supporting Struggling Learners
Beyond averages, treatment schools showed more consistent performance and reduced score dispersion. Standard deviations were slightly lower, suggesting fewer extreme gaps between high- and low-performing students.
This indicates that Learning Upgrade supports struggling learners while still lifting overall performance — a critical feature in low-resource settings.
Digital Inclusion: Impact Beyond Internet Access
One concern in digital learning programs is whether home internet access determines success.
The data suggests otherwise.
In treatment schools:
59% had home internet access
41% did not
Despite this, learning gains were observed across the board.
English scores rose from 48% to 62% regardless of home connectivity. Mathematics increased from 53% to 59%.
The program’s structured in-school implementation appears to be the primary driver of success, not personal device ownership or home broadband access.
Device Usage: Reaching Learners at All Levels of Access
Device use varied among learners:
19% used devices daily
33% used devices a few times per week
21% used devices once a week or less
28% reported never using a device prior to the program
Importantly, 88% of learners had no prior experience with digital learning tools before participating in Learning Upgrade.
Yet after one year:
93% reported confidence in using basic digital tools
60% somewhat confident
33% very confident
Only 7% reported low confidence
This suggests the program is successfully bridging digital skill gaps for first-time technology users.
Digital Skills: Strong Foundations, Room to Grow
Learners demonstrated stronger proficiency in foundational digital awareness:
55% rated themselves highly in identifying basic computer parts
39% rated high in identifying accessories
However, applied skills need strengthening:
66% rated low in sending an email
47% rated low in typing/navigation
Only 28% reported high proficiency in creating simple documents
These findings suggest the program has built digital awareness but could expand hands-on applied digital literacy instruction.
Motivation and Aspirations: The Human Impact
Academic improvement was matched by high levels of motivation.
95% reported being motivated or highly motivated to improve English and Mathematics
92% reported confidence in achieving future goals
This matters.
Confidence and motivation are leading indicators of long-term educational persistence.
Learners’ aspirations were ambitious and diverse:
49 aspiring nurses
37 aspiring doctors
29 teachers
20 soldiers
11 lawyers
10 footballers
Engineers, pilots, programmers, accountants, designers, and more
These goals reflect expanding horizons — a hallmark of transformative education.
Challenges Remain
Students reported structural challenges to learning:
80% lack good textbooks or learning materials
72% lack sufficient time to study at home
48% face household responsibilities
23% report difficulty concentrating
These constraints highlight why structured, school-based digital reinforcement programs are so critical.
Recommendations for Scale and Sustainability
The evaluation outlines clear next steps:
Establish baseline data before future scale-up.
Implement longitudinal tracking systems.
Deepen teacher engagement and curriculum alignment.
Provide targeted support to underperforming schools.
Expand applied digital skills instruction.
These refinements can amplify impact while preserving the program’s strengths.
Why This Matters for Ghana — and Beyond
The evidence from the Volta Region suggests that Learning Upgrade, when paired with reliable connectivity, can:
Accelerate foundational literacy and numeracy
Close gender gaps
Support struggling learners
Build digital confidence among first-time users
Increase motivation and future orientation
Most importantly, it does so in low-resource contexts, without requiring universal home internet access.
This makes it highly scalable across similar environments in Ghana and other developing regions.
Conclusion: A Scalable, Equitable Learning Model
After just one year, the Learning Upgrade and Starlink-supported intervention produced:
32% overall academic improvement
30% increase in English performance
40% increase in Mathematics performance
Closure of gender gaps in Mathematics
93% digital confidence among participants
95% learner motivation
While limitations remain — including lack of baseline data and a limited number of schools — the consistency of results across outcomes and subgroups provides strong indicative evidence of meaningful impact.
Learning Upgrade is not simply improving test scores. It is expanding opportunity, building confidence, and laying the foundation for long-term academic and professional success.
In the Volta Region of Ghana, the model has proven that technology-enabled learning — when thoughtfully implemented — can be both equitable and transformative.
The next step is scale.
