Final Report: Strengthening Educational Performance-Up (STEP-Up) Zambia Project .

The goal of the Strengthening Educational Performance-Up Zambia Project was to create an environment conducive to making reforms operational, thereby producing measurable increases in learner performance. It also raised awareness of early grade reading achievement as a gateway to improved student retention.

USAID’s Strengthening Educational Performance-Up (STEP-Up) Zambia Project was conceived to address the root causes of learner underperformance. The project worked through the education system to produce a shift in knowledge, attitudes, and practices that would contribute to improving learning outcomes, especially reading achievement at the primary education level. Rather than prescribing actions, STEP-Up supported education stakeholders to develop and undertake reforms by promoting a decentralized accountability model that put the learner at the center of public discussion.