Inclusive, supportive classroom environments can help students from disadvantaged backgrounds. USAID has been supporting the Government of Tajikistan (GOT) to improve learning outcomes in primary education for over a decade. USAID’s programs have contributed to some improvement in oral reading proficiency in the early grades. As can be seen in the chart on the right, from 2014 to 2022 average oral reading fluency increased for grade 2 and grade 4 students. These average improvements are equivalent to roughly a half year of schooling for grade 2 and a full year for grade 4. However, the education system’s ability to improve learning is not evenly distributed among the diversity of settings and learners across schools and communities in Tajikistan. Schooling in Tajikistan produces inequities in the development of early literacy based on geography, gender, the language learners use in the home, as well as their parents’ levels of education. Differences in classroom environments play a role in how well students learn to read, and importantly, how schools are run and how teachers teach can help overcome some of the disparities associated with non-school factors.