Remedying to move forward: evaluation of a direct instruction-based remedial education program

This paper assesses the impact of a remedial education program on academic performance. The program utilizes a direct instruction method to review and reinforce the curriculum content over a school year. The program targeted 5th-grade students in Brazil in 2019. We used the synthetic control method to evaluate the program. In 2019, there was a positive impact of 0.44σ in mathematics and 0.30σ in language test scores. Positive impacts extended to both the low – and high-achievers. In 2021 the program was discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a reversion in student performance to pre-2019 levels in both subjects.