Education interventions and decisions should be justified. This time-on-task study is an example of gathering evidence with applicable tools to inform subsequent activities. The study was designed to use direct observations, track the use of time, and conduct interviews to inform Arabic literacy instruction and decisions in the West Bank. The following research questions were generated to guide this line of inquiry conducted by the West Bank Early Grade Reading (EGR) team, in partnership with the MOEHE. • Research Question 1: How much time is allocated in the school day on the school calendar for Arabic instruction? • Research Question 2: How is instructional time used that is designated for Arabic? How much of the lesson focuses on reading/writing? What instructional approach is used? What activities are students involved in? What is their level of engagement? Research Question 3: Which effective literacy instructional pedagogical behaviors are seen? • Research Question 4: In addition to the Arabic lesson, how much time in the school day is the teacher instructing? Does this time focus on instruction in reading, writing, and/or language development? • Research Question 5: What are the barriers to instruction and time on task?

The US Agency for International Development (USAID)/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity (herein referred to as the Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity or Activity) is designed to support the Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), to improve early grade reading (EGR) skills and retention by strengthening reading instruction, building a positive and supportive school climate for learning, and reducing school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV). Between March and June 2016, the Activity conducted baseline studies for the purpose of testing this hypothesis. Result 1 of the Activity focuses on improved delivery of EGR instruction, while Result 2 focuses on improving the quality of the school climate and eliminating violence in schools. To establish a baseline for Result 1, the Activity carried out Early Grade Reading Assessments (EGRAs) for Grade 1 and Grade 2 pupils. For Result 2, the baseline included Grade 3 and Grade 5 pupils’ experience of SRGBV; pupils’ perception of the school climate; and pupil, school staff, and parent attitudes about gender norms. The EGR study was conducted in March 2016, while the SRGBV assessment and related mediating factors of school climate and gender attitude was conducted between April and June 2016. At the time of the Baseline Report in September 2016 (RTI International), findings from the Result 2 study were not yet fully available. The purpose of this addendum is to report on the Result 2 findings, thus completing the 2016 Baseline Report, which focused primarily on Result 1. In this addendum there are selected summaries of information that are also provided in the 2016 Baseline Report but refer the reader to the 2016 Baseline Study Report for more detailed information on these topics, as needed.

The USAID/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity (LARA) undertook an assessment of an eight-week social and behavior change communication (SBCC) pilot campaign in the Ssekanyonyi Coordinating Center, Mityana district. The purpose of the communication campaign was to improve parent’s engagement in their children’s reading practice at home. To evaluate the campaign’s impact, DLC Consult collected data for the baseline survey in June 2017 and for the endline survey in August 2017. The survey team interviewed 906 parents at baseline and 936 parents at endline.

Survey of Student Experiences of School-related Gender-based Violence (SRGBV); developed by RTI under the Uganda LARA project in May 16 2018

Survey of Student Perceptions of School Climate; developed by RTI under the Uganda LARA project in May 16 2018

Survey of Student Social and Emotional Competencies and Agency; developed by RTI under the Uganda LARA project in May 2018

Survey of Gender Attitudes May 16 2018; developed by RTI under the Uganda LARA project

In Malawi, a context where many students do not learn to read, we wanted a way to distinguish those who might struggle with reading acquisition regardless of instruction. Specifically, we wanted to know if students with deficits in both rapid automatic naming (RAN) and phonological awareness in Chichewa experience more difficulty with reading growth than students with single or no deficits. Prior to our study, the double deficit had been shown in opaque and transparent orthographies but had yet to be explored in Chichewa or other Bantu languages.

For many children in low-income countries, schools are danger zones and places to be feared. Policy makers, funders and implementers lack accurate information regarding the prevalence of school-related genderbased violence (SRGBV) and the way it manifests in the lives of children. RTI funded a study in March 2018 in Uganda that tested a new model of SRGBV data collection—the ACASI method—that shows promise in generating more accurate data.

EF Touch is a tablet-administered assessment designed to measure children’s three key executive function skills: working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. These functions are important for organizing information, planning, solving problems, sustaining attention, and coordinating action and thoughts in support of goal-directed behaviors. Consequently, these functions are integral to children’s ability to learn how to learn. Most of what we know about executive functions has been gathered from studies in high-income countries. However, EF Touch is now being adapted and tested with young children living in LMICs, including Kenya and Liberia.