The Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) are a set of health and education indicators that examine the effort and ability of staff and the availability of key inputs and resources that contribute to a functioning school or health facility. The indicators are standardized allowing comparison between and within countries over time.
The Education SDIs include teacher effort, teacher knowledge and ability, and the availability of key inputs (for example, textbooks, basic teaching equipment, and infrastructure such as blackboards and toilets). The indicators provide a snapshot of the learning environment and the key resources necessary for students to learn.
Tanzania Service Delivery Indicators Education Survey was implemented between August and December 2016 by Research in Poverty Alleviation (REPOA) in close coordination with the World Bank SDI team. Four hundred primary schools were visited, 2,145 standard three, four, and five teachers were assessed on English, mathematics, and pedagogy, 3,659 teachers of all grades have been followed for absence rate. Also, although learning outcomes are not part of the indicators, 4,797 standard four pupils have been assessed on language (English/Kiswahili), mathematics, and non-verbal reasoning. It is crucial that the indicators are correlated with pupil learning outcome because the SDI is geared towards capturing the drivers of learning outcomes at the school level. This was the third SDI survey conducted to assess the quality of services provided by Tanzania's education sector (previous surveys were conducted in 2010 and 2014).