In 2023 CSN commissioned a Nepali education research organisation, Arc Pvt Ltd, to carry out a three year assessment of the impact of our work in the schools we manage directly.

The results showed that students in these schools were improving at almost twice the rate of students in comparable public schools. 

In 2025 we began a new project to measure the impact of our LEAP project on student learning. LEAP provides teachers of Grade 1 to 3 with lesson plans, curriculum material and weekly coaching support. Last year we supported 28 schools through LEAP and this year the number has risen to 47. 

Arc Pvt Ltd is also managing this project, while we have now adopted its methodology and are doing the assessment in our managed schools ourselves.

We have now completed the first year of our assessment of LEAP. This has involved two rounds of assessment (Phase I in Sept 2025 and Phase II in March 2026). While it is still early to draw strong conclusions about the impact of LEAP, a few themes are emerging.

i) students under the LEAP project are performing at a far higher level than the national average. We can make this comparison, because Arc is also managing a national project using the same assessment tool. On average LEAP students scored 13.7% higher in Nepali and 14.5% higher in maths than the national average (English is not included in the national project). This suggests LEAP is having a significant impact, although we should also note that the majority of LEAP schools are in Kathmandu, where students generally outperform the national average. 

ii) LEAP students are also making steady and significant progress between Grades 1 and 3. 

iii) When we compare the results of Phase I and Phase II, we generally see LEAP students making good progress, especially in Nepali and English. In two municipalities students achieved a remarkable 20%-point improvement in just six months. Progress in maths has been slower, but overall maths scores are higher than Nepali and English. 

These are early-stage findings, and Arc has told us that a more complete picture will emerge after the Phase IV assessments (April 2027).

Nevertheless, we are proud of the positive signs of LEAP’s impact and are working to provide additional support to teachers and students who are not yet making the progress we expect.