Tablets to support teachers to teach reading in Uganda: Feel good? Yes. Effective? Partially. Promising? Definitely.

Tablet programs are extremely popular among beneficiaries. And we get it. When a grant opportunity came up to provide tablets and training to Coordinating Center Tutors (CCTs)[1], the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program jumped. We had been working with CCTs since 2013 and had a strong process in place involving literacy-focused classroom observation tools and a system of joint support supervision designed to build capacity of the CCTs while supporting teachers at the schools.

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Early Childhood Education and Development: Expert Interview Series

This interview series, featuring 9 RTI experts, highlights the breadth and depth of our early childhood development and education work. Contributions include first-of-their-kind assessments of child development in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC), theoretical and empirical analyses of early years investments by governments, and large-scale preprimary interventions improving learning outcomes for over 100,000 children.

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Lessons from Liberia: Five Questions to Ask for Scaling Evidence-Based Practices

Read Liberia is a five-year early-grades literacy project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). RTI International is lead implementer of the project in partnership with the Liberian Ministry of Education. This article highlights how informed, comprehensive program design can support implementation of evidence-based practices to improve instruction in challenging contexts.

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Multi-Language Assessment (MLA) for Young Children: An Instrument in Development by RTI International

Many of our daily decisions are informed by the information we gather from established instruments. If we hear that the barometer is showing a drop in the air pressure, we can plan for changes in the weather.  When we read that GDP (gross domestic product) has been on a steady rise, it gives us financial confidence. And when we see a normal blood pressure reading, that is one indicator that our health is on the right track. These three instruments help to predict what might happen next in domains that affect us all--the economy, the weather, and health.

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Reflections on and takeaways from WISE@Paris

My children are in public school in France. Last week at WISE @ Paris I learned that "French students spend 2/3 of their time taking notes. 70% of students have not worked in a group until they are 15 years old." (Yann Algan, Sciences Po). This confirmed my own impressions, and added to my parental angst about how to prepare my children for an uncertain future. However, it wasn't all bad news.

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