There is an abundance of research about the costs of measuring the SDGs. Institutions with the mandate to measure the SDGs are busy estimating costs and making plans to improve both reporting and capacity within countries. However, some observers and commentators are skeptical about the benefits of measurement. This CIES 2019 presentation takes a “value of information” approach to calculating the benefits of having and using information by asking: what is the social (monetary) benefit of running an education system with full information versus running the same education system with only limited information?

The USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program (SHRP) works through existing Ministry systems to provide reading instruction in 12 local languages and English to over 3,000 primary schools. A major focus of the program has been on increasing the use of evidence to inform programs and improve performance. This CIES 2019 presentation highlights examples of program support to the Ministry to take the lead in information generation to increase “buy in” of results and, ultimately, action.

In this CIES 2019 presentation, Rachel Jordan presents how Tangerine Tutor is used to conduct and improve upon classroom observations in the USAID Uganda School Health and Reading Program.

This presentation unpacks findings from a seven-country teacher professional development study, presented by Dr. Benjamin Piper and Jessica Mejia at CIES 2019.

At CIES 2019, Dr. Benjamin Piper reflected on the use of experimental and implementation research to inform the scale-up and success of the USAID Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity in Kenya.

This presentation shares findings from a longitudinal study of the Kenya Tayari program, examining whether ECD effects persisted into primary school, presented by Dr. Benjamin Piper at CIES 2019.

Findings on the impact of the Tusome intervention and language of instruction on refugee learners in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, presented by Dr. Benjamin Piper at CIES 2019.

CIES presentation of Early Childhood Education landscape report for the Asia region under All Children Reading - Asia.

Several forces are at play in determining whether pedagogical approaches are optimally adapted to the culture of children’s behaviour and of teacher-child interaction in the classroom. Teachers’ expectations for children’s behaviour may differ from the way in which children are raised at home (Jukes et al, 2018). Teaching activities may be designed by experts from outside the beneficiary education system or who may be removed from the culture of rural schools. The evidence for the effectiveness of recommended teaching practices may be based on children and teachers from a different culture. The current study sought to understand the role of cultural factors in the teaching of early grade reading in Tanzania. The aim was to investigate teacher’s pedagogical choices and the implicit theory of teaching and learning that underpinned these choices. We also aimed to understand teachers’ perceptions of students’ social and emotional skills and how this influenced their pedagogical choices. The current study took place in three regions of Tanzania – Zanzibar, Mtwara and Iringa – in the context of the USAID supported Tusome Pamoja (“let’s read together”) project. Researchers observed one lesson from each of 36 teachers and recorded key teaching activities. A subsequent qualitative interview with the teachers examined the decisions they made during the lesson and how their perception of students’ competencies influenced their decisions. Two themes emerged from the results. First, teachers said that children who did not participate in classroom activities lacked confidence and curiosity, particularly in rural areas. These two qualities - confidence and curiosity - were identified in previous work as traits valued more by teachers than parents in the context of learning. Second, teachers said the independent activities were not effective because pupils always cooperate with others in life. There was a strong preference for activities that involved the whole class and against students learning by doing, independent of the teacher. Schools can respond by conducting more activities that build curiosity and confidence. Children becoming more confident and curious in rural Africa represents a cultural change. But one that emerges from the community - not imposed upon it. Instructional design should consider the strong cultural preference for group-orientation and work with - rather than against - this preference where possible.

This report summarizes the findings of the 2018 Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Initiative (RAMP) Lot Quality Assurance Sampling Assessment, measuring impact between 2017 and 2018. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UK Aid have funded RAMP as a national effort designed to improve the reading and mathematics skills and performance of students in Jordan from kindergarten 2 through grade 3 (K2–G3). This five-year program began on January 1, 2015, and is scheduled to end on December 31, 2019. Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah formally launched RAMP as part of the broader Ministry of Education (MoE) initiative to improve education. The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International leads implementation with its partners: Queen Rania Teacher’s Academy, ChangeAgent for Arab Development and Education Reform, We Love Reading, The Kaizen Company, Mercy Corps, Dajani Consulting, and Prodigy Consulting. The RAMP team and the MOE conducted a Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) assessment in November 2018. Approximately 200 assessors (most of whom were MOE supervisors) were trained to collect reading and mathematics performance data across all 42 field directorates in the kingdom. For this activity, an approach was used at the school level, which led to a final sample of more than 39,000 Grade 2 and Grade 3 students in 2,076 schools. Performance comparisons made on three key indicators (reading comprehension, oral reading fluency, and mathematics) provides illustrative evidence of the gains made by RAMP schools over one school year. Large gains were seen on reading comprehension with the percent of students reaching the comprehension benchmark, increasing from 43% in 2017 to 55% in 2018. Gains in terms of oral reading fluency increased from 13% in 2017 to 19% in 2018. The smallest gains were in terms of mathematics (where the percent of students reaching the benchmark improved only slightly from 28% in 2017 to 30% in 2018).