Improving learning among low-achieving students is a challenge in education. We present results from the first randomized experiment of an inquiry-based remedial science education program for low-performing elementary students in a developing-country setting. Third-grade students in 48 low-income public elementary schools in Metropolitan Lima who score at the bottom half of their school distribution in a science test taken at the beginning of the school year are randomly assigned to receive up to 16 remedial science tutoring sessions of 90 minutes each.

In order to maintain social distancing during the reopening of schools, the number of students per classroom should be reduced by approximately 30%. With this, education systems will have to implement an alternative education provision that combines in-person and remote education mediated by technology. As countries start reopening schools, it is expected that hybrid education will be increasingly adopted. This will serve as a channel for the digital transformation of education systems and to promote an education with greater quality, inclusion, and flexibility.