We contribute to that literature by being the first to evaluate the achievement effects of a large-scale tuition elimination policy for secondary education in Africa. The present study extends work by one of this study’s authors (Gajigo 2014), who used household survey data to find large enrollment gains from the same program. We use administrative data on the universe of standardized test scores in The Gambia from 1998 to 2012; we are the first researchers to obtain and analyze this data. We also contribute to the broader literature on efforts to close the gender gap in access and learning. Several other studies have evaluated similar programs targeting girls (Kim et al. 1999a, 1999b, and Chaudhury and Parajuli 2010 for Pakistan; Filmer and Schady 2008 for Cambodia; Kremer et al. 2009 for Kenya; Baird et al. 2011 for Malawi; Begum et al. 2012 for Bangladesh; and the previously mentioned Kazianga et al. 2013 and Muralidharan and Prakash 2013 for Burkina Faso and India, respectively), with a consensus finding that reducing the cost of attendance leads to gains in enrollment. Of these, however, only Baird et al. (2011) examines learning outcomes among secondary school students as we do, using a program more local in scope than our setting.

In the next section, we describe the education system in The Gambia and the girls’ scholarship program. Sections III–IV present the methodology and data we use for analysis. Section V presents results, and Section VI concludes.

# I. EDUCATION IN THE GAMBIA AND THE GIRLS’ SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

In the Gambian education system, the first 9 years are formally known as the Basic Cycle. This includes six years of primary school (grades 1–6) and three years of Upper Basic School (middle school, grades 7–9). High school, known locally as Senior Secondary School, consists of grades 10–12. The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE, hereafter the Grade 12 exam), instituted in 1998, is administered at the end of grade 12 and is required for advancing to university. The West African Examination Council (WAEC), a regional institution that conducts examinations in the four former British colonies in West Africa (The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone), administers the exam.

WAEC generates exam questions each year in consultation with the Ministry of Education, based on existing curricula. Accordingly, the exam measures achievement in specific subjects, rather than innate ability. Students choose a minimum of six and a maximum of nine subjects, but the core and mandatory subjects are mathematics and English, which will be our focus. There is no fixed passing mark for the exam. Because the exam is based on curricula designed by the Ministry of Education, and these have not undergone any major change, the exam questions should be comparable over time. Students must register and pay a fee of approximately US$30 to take the exam.

The exam takes place within a structured system. Each year, sealed questions are delivered at the test centers the day before the scheduled exam.<sup>2</sup> On the day of the exam, teachers from other schools serve as invigilators (proctors). The exams are centrally graded by WAEC. This structure is similar to the way national exams are conducted in 4