The article examined the impact of pre-primary education in Lao PDR on children’s school readiness and numeracy. Using a quasi-experimental research design, we compared children (ages 4 and 5, N = 445) in five districts across three groups: (1) attending a school with an NGO-government collaboration, (2) attending a school without an NGO-collaboration, and (3) not attending school. Quality was assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale. Results show that pre-primary schools with an NGO-collaboration were higher in quality than other schools. Children in a school with an NGO-collaboration scored higher on school readiness than both other groups of children; the impact on numeracy differs by age. Five lessons learned are discussed.