Delivering results in girls\u27 education: How to evaluate what works, what doesn\u27t, and what we don\u27t know

Girls around the world face daunting challenges when it comes to enrolling in primary school, completing secondary school, and gaining the basic knowledge and skills they need to be empowered, healthy, and productive adults. Many governments and organizations have risen to meet that challenge through policies and programs designed to remove common barriers to girls’ education. But as the number of actors in this space grows, and resources to address these challenges remain scarce, it is essential to ensure that investments are targeted toward the most effective policies and programs. This brief lays out the basics of program evaluation. The goal is to provide practitioners, policymakers, donors, and advocates working in girls’ education with basic tools to critically assess and integrate evidence into decisions about program and policy design and advocacy messages