This report, from the All Children Reading-Cambodia project, documents the results of the teacher survey, desk review and compilation of assessment data and communicates the implications of that research in the form of recommended updates to the syllabus, curriculum and materials for grades 1-2

The British Department for International Development (DFID) has partnered with the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) to conduct empirical research on inefficiencies in the Ugandan education system. This research will help the Ministry better understand the severity, causes, and consequences of an enrolment bulge in early primary classes in Uganda. Specifically, this study is investigating the magnitude of repetition in primary 1. It encompasses a nationally representative sample of pupils, and uses information from interviews with pupils, parents/guardians, and teachers.

USAID/Washington, via the All Children Reading (ACR)—Asia task order, commissioned RTI International to conduct research on whether lower and middle-income countries in Asia should invest in early grade reading. To do so, we consider the relationship between increased literacy and employment and social outcomes. We also investigate evolving job opportunities in developing Asian economies, their literacy requirements, and the relationship of Asian growth to the US economy. We then examine data on the current literacy levels among school-going and young-adult populations in Asian countries to see if they meet the needs revealed by job market trends in Asia. The analyses presented in this report show conclusively that it continues to be important for lower and middle income countries in Asia to invest in improving the teaching and learning of literacy skills in early grades. Emphasis should be placed not only on foundational skills, but also on applied skills, such as reading for comprehension across subject areas and applying information gleaned through reading various types of text to understand and solve increasingly complex problems. Education systems therefore must address the full continuum of reading skills development, beginning in the early years and throughout primary school.

The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) is widely used to assess reading proficiency in developing countries. Benchmarks were introduced to simplify EGRA results into a single indicator against which countries could measure their children’s reading progress. This report is about the process, rational and considerations for setting benchmarks (a desired level of performance on a reading task) and targets (the percent of students intended to reach the performance level). The report addresses three purposes of benchmarking: 1. Country purpose: Track progress in reading within a national education system and provide data to inform efforts to improve education quality. 2. Agency purpose: Help USAID monitor the progress of projects and countries working to reach specific children-reading goals. 3. The global purpose: Measure progress in reading for all; provide a basis for global advocacy; and provide

During 2016/2017, RTI implemented an assistive technology initiative to improve reading instruction in inclusive grade two public school classrooms in 63 schools in five regions of Ethiopia. Project inputs included a smartphone with screening tools for vision and hearing impairment and explicitly accommodated reading lesson plans for reading and writing instruction in mother tongue. The intervention also included a total of 4 days of teacher training and two classroom monitoring visits per teacher. After three months of implementation, teacher attitudes and self-efficacy to inclusive education improved significantly, as did teacher adoption of foundational inclusive practices in the classroom. At the student level, students identified for a potential vision or hearing impairment in intervention classrooms demonstrated similar learning progress compared to their peers without such impairment, although the study found measurable differences in reading achievement between these groups already at baseline. In conclusion, the innovation of using pedagogical support tools on smartphones as assistive technology at the teacher level appeared to have been appropriate for the context of the participating schools in Ethiopia, as well as effective in improving inclusive reading instruction.

The USAID PRIORITAS project began in May 2012 with the aim of achieving expanded access to improved quality basic education (IR1). The intermediate results (IRs) that the project aimed to achieve are as follows: * strengthened instruction in schools in targeted districts (IR1-1) * improved education management and governance in targeted schools (IR1-2) * strengthened coordination between all levels of the Government of Indonesia (GOI) and education institutions (IR1-3). This report covers the duration of the project, from May 2012 to September 2017.

This paper describes a 2016 pilot study undertaken in Uganda to document the real repetition rate in Primary 1 classes and to examine the relationship between repetition in Primary 1 and attendance in pre-primary education. The study explored knowledge and practice about the age of entry for children into pre-primary education and Primary 1. It also documented parents’ knowledge and expectations about participation in pre-primary education. The study was conducted in two purposefully selected districts in Uganda (a “high-risk” district—with higher rates of poverty and reported repetition—and a “low-risk” district—with lower rates of poverty and reported repetition) by RTI International, with support from the Development Research and Social Policy Analysis Center, a Ugandan data collection firm. In addition to answering research questions about early primary repetition and pre-primary attendance, the pilot aimed to test a methodology of triangulating information from the Education Management Information System, school records, and parents’ reports. The study confirmed that it is possible to compare data from teacher and classroom records with data from parent and teacher interviews; parents or caregivers were invited to come to school for an interview, and a large percentage did. The study also showed that according to teachers and parents, repetition rates in Primary 1 are much higher than perceived by the system. Repetition rates in Primary 1, as perceived by parents and teachers, are quite high—roughly 30% to 40%, depending on source and location. In addition, parents reported that early entry into Primary 1 (and the possible resulting repetition) is being used as a substitute for pre-primary education due to the lack of preprimary schooling options. Some parents send their children to school at an early age because they cannot afford pre-primary schooling, even though they realize the child might have to repeat the year or will learn less the first time through Primary 1. For children who attended pre-primary, the data demonstrate a strong “protective” effect on their chances of repeating Primary 1 (i.e., the children who attended pre-primary were less likely to repeat in Primary 1). Gender was not found to affect these issues to any significant degree.

The Institute for People’s Education (Institut pour l’Éducation Populaire, or IEP) designed the Read-Learn-Lead (RLL) program to demonstrate that the new official curriculum, if properly implemented and supported, can be a viable and effective approach to primary education, using mother tongue and a very specific pedagogical delivery approach. The RLL program sought also to demonstrate how the new Curriculum can be effectively implemented and supported, and what resources are needed to do so. RLL offers students and teachers carefully structured and systematic lessons, activities, and accompanying materials for instruction and practice on critical early reading skills in mother-tongue medium during the first years of elementary school. It is organized around three programmatic “results sets,” the first of which focuses on Grades 1 and 2 and is the subject of the present evaluation. This independent evaluation study, funded through a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and carried out by RTI, explored the effectiveness of the RLL program’s Results Set 1 as applied over three school years (2009-2010 to 2011-2012) in the Bamanankan language and in other Malian national languages (Bomu and Fulfulde in all three years, and Songhai in 2009 and 2010).

USAID's Education Data for Decision Making (EdData II) was implemented over a 12 year period beginning in 2004. EdData II had at its core the goal of improving access to data for USAID Missions and host country ministries, to use for making informed policy decisions. The tools and research developed under EdData II whelped to inform the development of learning metrics under the Sustainable Development Goals (2015); provide evidence to support the design and monitor the implementation of USAID's 2011-2017 Education strategy, and provide actionable, high-quality data to inform policy and practice in around 35 countries. The report reflects on EdData II and the project's impact, providing a summary of the most salient and impactful project activities, and drawing key lessons from their development and implementation.

Midterm evaluation of longitudinal study conducted through the Tayari Early Childhood Development and Education Programme. Tayari is an intervention implemented by the Kenyan Ministry of Education and four counties, with technical support from RTI International and funding from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). Tayari is focused on designing, piloting and testing the cost effectiveness of investments to increase school readiness for children in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) centres in Uasin Gishu, Siaya, Laikipia and Nairobi counties.