Remote EGRA for Learners Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing

Early Grade Reading Assessments (EGRAs) measure students’ progress in reading through individual administration of an oral survey of foundational reading skills. Administration is generally conducted on-site by teams of trainer assessors, face to face with students in a one-on-one capacity. While EGRAs are administered internationally, students who are deaf or hard of hearing are often left at a disadvantage by prevailing reading assessments. To adapt EGRAs to fit the needs of students who are deaf or hard of hearing, USAID has supported the development of EGRAs specifically for students who are deaf or hard of hearing in Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, and the Philippines, among other countries. In the Philippines, these assessments have improved the understanding of and capability in inclusive education programming, including the development and pilot implementation of the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) curriculum and training and mentoring of teachers in FSL. As there is no information on existing models of remotely administered EGRAs, the purpose of this activity was to prototype—design, develop, and test for proof of concept and acceptability—an early grade reading assessment that is administered asynchronously with assessors and enumerators who are not on-site, for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Such a model can be deployed in outbreaks and emergencies that affect the ability to administer EGRAs in person and at a specified period and specifically adapted for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.