We are delighted by the results of a three-year independent research project into the impact of our school-management model on students’ learning.

The most important measure of our work is the effect it has on students’ learning, and by that measure we are making impressive progress, according to the final report on the research, led by Nepali education research specialists, Arc Private Ltd.

“The findings provide robust evidence for the effectiveness and scalability of CSN’s school management model, showing greater overall progress [than comparable public schools] but also more equitable improvement,” the report concludes. 

The research found that students in CSN-managed schools make progress at almost twice the rate of students in comparable public schools. It further found that the impact of CSN’s work was especially noticeable among the weakest students, “suggesting CSN’s model helped to close entrenched achievement gaps.”

Arc’s report found that students in schools managed by CSN achieved a 24.8% increase in correct answers, while control schools improved by 12.6%.

According to the report, the findings demonstrate that CSN’s work led to:

Sustained improvement – the gap in outcomes widened over time, as CSN’s approach compounded its advantage through repeated cycles of teaching, assessment and targeted support.

Significant learning gains – the largest effect was in maths, with treatment schools achieving nearly double the gain of control schools.

Strong equity impact – students in the lowest-performing CSN schools made some of the largest gains, helping to close persistent achievement gaps.

The report concluded, “the results validate the CSN school management model as a scalable and effective approach for raising foundational learning outcome in Nepal’s public schools.” 

The research has not only confirmed the value of our work, but indicated how we can achieve further improvements. That is why we now intend to continue this research, and extend it to our LEAP programme.