The attached survey instruments were used to analyze various learning materials as part of the Survey of Children's Reading Materials in African Languages in Eleven Countries (part of the DERP program).

This toolkit is the product of ongoing collaboration among a large community of scholars, practitioners, government officials, and education development professionals to advance the cause of early reading assessment and acquisition among primary school children in low-income countries. In the interest of consolidating diverse experiences and developing a reasonably standardized approach to assessing children’s early reading acquisition, this “toolkit,” or user manual, serves as a guide for countries beginning to work with EGRA in such areas as local adaptation of the instrument, fieldwork, and analysis of results. This toolkit is intended for use by Ministry or Department of Education staff, donor staff, practitioners, and professionals in the field of education development. The document, in 12 sections, seeks to summarize a large body of research in an accessible manner. The procedures described in this toolkit are to be used in all USAID-funded administrations of EGRA and, it is hoped, in all other EGRA administrations as well. -- Suggested citation: RTI International. (2016). Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) Toolkit, Second Edition. Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development. --

A two day workshop on November 12 and 13, 2014 brought together 26 education stakeholders, including representatives of the Department for Inspection and Advisory Services, The Department of Basic Education, the Department for Teacher Education and Development, the Malawi Institute for Education, Domasi College of Education, Teacher Training Colleges, and the Centre for Education, Research and Training. Staff from the USAID Malawi Early Grade Reading Activity also participated as did representatives of USAID/Malawi.

Day-by-day teacher’s guide (180 pages, low-resolution PDF). Companion to Kiswahili Kitabu cha Mwanafunzi, 2 [Kiswahili Pupil’s Book, 2]. Prepared with funding from the USAID and DFID Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity, implemented by MoEST with technical assistance from RTI International, 2014–2018. Tusome is a national-scale program for improving the reading skills of learners in grades 1 and 2.

This brief discusses an intervention in Jordan which was developed following the 2012 EGRA and EGMA revealed that Jordanian children in the early grades were not reading with comprehension or doing mathematics with understanding. As a result, the MoE Curriculum Team and the Senior Reading and Mathematics Supervisors, to develop an intervention pilot research program that would support teachers in providing deliberate, structured, and developmentally appropriate daily practice in foundational skills for reading and mathematics.

EdData II, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), provided survey expertise to help national and local governments as well as the donor community assess education status in low income countries. The period of performance for EdData II Task Order 7, Learning Outcomes Research and Assessment-Related Projects, was October 2009–October 2013. Its purpose was to build on the measurement instruments developed and piloted under other EdData II task orders and to coordinate data, analysis, and reporting on learning outcomes with specific attention to early grade reading proficiency, early grade numeracy, and conditions of learning as indicated by school management effectiveness measures in a number of priority countries. This report summary gives a history of the effort in each country, including its purpose, various challenges encountered, and in-country reactions to the study findings.

This report summarizes the findings from a baseline assessment that was conducted in February and March, 2014 to determine the current status of reading achievement in the “Cluster 2” schools in which the Program will be working, as well as achievement in control1 schools that will be used as a basis for comparison in assessing the effectiveness of the interventions.

In November 2013, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT), with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and technical assistance by RTI International, conducted the National Baseline Assessment for the 3Rs (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic) Using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA), and Snapshot of School Management Effectiveness (SSME) in Standard 2 in Tanzania. The purpose of this study was to provide data that can be translated into an evidence base to inform policy decisions and interventions. The baseline assessment also provides rich performance and contextual data that can be used for comparison with midline and endline studies after the introduction of new reforms or interventions under the 3Rs campaign or the larger Big Results Now (BRN) initiative. This brief describes the workshop and presents the benchmarks.

This brief discusses the results from the EGRAs conducted as of January 2016 in Uganda under the School Health and Reading Program (SHRP). Results to date indicate that in virtually every language, increases in reading skills beyond those found in controls schools are taking place – and that teachers are changing the way they are teaching reading.

This brief discusses Cluster 3 schools where Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data were collected from 112 randomly selected program and control schools without the program in 9 districts in Uganda1 in October, 2015 from 1,504 program learners and 1,432 control learners at the end of P1 and the findings compared to baseline data collected at the beginning of P1 in February, 2015 from 1,599 program and 1,574 control learners.