Accelerating Foundational Literacy and Numeracy through Artificial Intelligence in Tanzania

Foundational literacy and numeracy remain critical bottlenecks to learning in Tanzania, with many children completing early primary school without basic reading fluency or number sense. While artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to personalize instruction and address learning gaps, rigorous evidence on its effectiveness in improving foundational skills in low income countries is still limited. This project will evaluate the impact of SmartClass, an AI-powered learning platform adapted for early primary education. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial, the study will be implemented in approximately 30 public primary schools targeting Standards 1 - 3 pupils in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Mwanza regions. SmartClass will deliver an interactive English and Kiswahili-based literacy and numeracy exercises targeting sounds of letters, word reading, number recognition, number sense, and basic operations while providing teachers and caregivers with dashboards to support targeted instruction and follow-ups. Primary outcomes will include student-level measures of foundational literacy and numeracy. The study will examine heterogeneous impacts by gender, socio-economic status, and disability. Cost-effectiveness and scalability within the public primary school system will also be assessed. The project will be implemented in partnership with Makutano Digital, a local digital organization in Tanzania that designed and is implementing the SmartClass platform.