This study uses national Grade (G) 3 Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data from 2013, when G3 students learned to read in Filipino and English rather than a mother tongue, and comparable data from 2019, when G3 students would have, according to policy, first learned to read in their mother tongue. The data were used to better understand the role of L1 complexity in L2 and L3 reading acquisition. Sample: 241 schools; 232 schools were the same in 2013 and 2019. Final sample used for analysis: 2,264 G3 students in 2019 and 2,267 G3 students in 2013. Children were assessed in Filipino (L2) and English (L3). Secondary analysis of the data set looked at reading performance and changes in reading performance according to language complexity.

This presentation delivered at the CIES 2024 conference in Miami describes the bilingual reforms in Senegal and how they are supported through local language specialists (via the local organization ARED) and community engagement. For successful bilingualism, there are a number of challenges to be met in several areas. Reforming the curriculum to address the scope and sequence of national languages in the curriculum, with gradual introduction to French as a second language requires considerable shift in the status quo. Naturally, new textbooks and teaching materials need to be developed, but which languages? At present, 6 languages are taken into account in the reform promoted by the government, but there is a need we need to think more broadly about the gradual introduction of other languages, and their readiness to be used in formal instruction. Under the current reform program, RELIT—Renforcement de la Lecture Initiale pour Tous—is led by the government in collaboration with implementing partners supported by USAID. A detailed program of language mapping and community consultations has helped to lay the groundwork for community acceptance of national language instruction and identifying which language will be used in each school based on the majority language in the community. Preparing communities for such a significant change also involves community consultations and a large social and behavior change communications campaign. While these broad changes are critical to the larger ecosystem of school reform, ultimately teachers need to implement the reforms, and therefore a significant task is upskilling teachers in using these national languages for instruction. Some teachers also need to improve their skills in speaking and reading these languages, which have largely been oral languages until recently. Policy and curricular reforms therefore need to take into consideration teacher recruitment, teacher preparation and placement in schools. Such issues of curriculum, societal attitudes, and teacher training are relatively easily anticipated. However, there are a host of smaller details that only implementation of such a significant program can reveal. Should the curriculum include teaching cursive writing in national languages, which has always been the norm in French, even though no cursive forms yet exist for certain letters of the languages? For instruction in both national languages and French, should materials be developed in separate volumes, or do both languages appear side-by-side in textbooks and learning materials? What messages resonate with communities, who may resist national language instruction? And how best to bring teachers on board with such a monumental change? This presentation will discuss the processes and findings of multiple action research activities in the context of the RELIT program.

This presentation delivered at the CIES 2024 conference in Miami describes the bilingual reforms in Senegal and how they are supported through local language specialists (via the local organization ARED) and community engagement

Classroom observation tool for grades 1-3 mathematics education in Arabic.

This report presents the findings of a survey conducted as part of the Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program. The survey aimed to assess the adoption and use of new English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and learning materials (Grades 1-11) in public schools throughout Uzbekistan during the 2022-2023 academic year. The evaluation focused on the implementation and adoption of the Cambridge series Guess What! and Prepare, as well as their impact on student learning, as perceived by teachers. An approach, involving qualitative and quantitative data analysis, was employed.

Central to the Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) reform agenda is the shift to a modern standards-based education approach that aligns instruction and outcomes to specific competencies or standards. Such an approach includes student learning standards — the knowledge, concepts, and skills that students need to acquire — and materials, assessments, instructional practices, and teacher professional development that align to the student standards. In 2019, the Republican Education Center defined learning objectives for each subject in the benchmark years and stated that improvement was needed to develop well-defined, wellarticulated, and grade-level appropriate standards for language arts skill areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing for each grade. A move to a standards-based approach required that instructional materials aligned to standards and that teachers were equipped with the resources they need to bring standards-based instruction to life in their classroom.

The Time on Task study was completed as part of the USAID Jordan Reading and Mathematics Project (RAMP), RAMP was a 7-year project aimed at improving foundational learning skills. The time on task study aims to understand how time is allocated throughout the school day, how that time is used to teach various subjects, and the effectiveness of instructional approaches used to teach Arabic. The study examined grades 1-3 classrooms in schools that were selected as high-growth and low-growth schools based on the results of the 2019 RAMP endline survey. In high-growth schools, students demonstrated growth in reading skills based on reading comprehension and zero scores. Conversely, in low-growth schools where there was a decline in reading comprehension and/or an increase in zero scores. The sample included a total of 34 schools: 16 high-growth schools and 18 low-growth schools. The study utilized classroom observations, teacher and principal interviews, and innovative instructional methods to identify teaching strategies associated with higher student engagement and better learning outcomes. The time on task study took place between October 2022 and March 2023. The results show that while there are existing good practices in terms of effective Arabic instructional pedagogies in early-grade classrooms, there remains a need for adjustments to diversify and expand teachers’ pedagogical skills, along with increasing opportunities for students to engage in reading and writing. Teachers need to provide effective reading instruction that aligns with students' developmental progression of skills incorporating diverse materials and extending Arabic lesson time. Additionally, teachers should design high-quality tasks that foster better understanding and learning. The study was undertaken to inform Arabic literacy instruction and decisions that can be made by Jordan's Ministry of Education (MoE) decision-makers.

Introducing the groundbreaking Reading and Mathematics Program (RAMP), a USAID-funded initiative with a mission to transform early-grade education in Jordan's government primary schools. It addresses the need for enhanced foundational abilities in reading and math among early-grade students, particularly those facing challenges. The program emerged from a 2019 survey indicating that while national scores improved, struggling students, especially those in refugee camps, did not progress as desired. The survey underscored the need for tailored reading materials to master phonics, crucial for fluency and comprehension. Consequently, RAMP analyzed Arabic reading textbooks and identified gaps, primarily in grade 2, prompting the introduction of decodable leveled reading books. The study's central objective is to gauge the effectiveness of these books in classrooms. Designed to bolster phonics skills, they aim to bridge proficiency gaps among different-performing students. The literature review discusses decodable and leveled reading books, highlighting their benefits. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, using pre-tests, post-tests, and questionnaires to measure changes in reading fluency, comprehension, and perceptions. The results showed a significant improvement in first-grade emergent readers using decodable books, while struggling third-grade readers exhibited enhanced oral reading proficiency. Second-grade results were less clear. Students reported increased interest and faced challenges, underscoring the need for tailored resources. Teachers largely endorsed the books and recommended wider implementation. In conclusion, the study seeks to advance the "all children reading" goal by enhancing foundational skills for struggling students.

The Decodable Levelled Reading Books Study Report- Jordan/RAMP Discover the Power of Decodable Books: Bridging the Reading Gap in Jordan's Education System Introducing the groundbreaking Reading and Mathematics Program (RAMP), a USAID-funded initiative with a mission to transform early-grade education in Jordan's government primary schools. It addresses the need for enhanced foundational abilities in reading and math among early-grade students, particularly those facing challenges. The program emerged from a 2019 survey indicating that while national scores improved, struggling students, especially those in refugee camps, did not progress as desired. The survey underscored the need for tailored reading materials to master phonics, crucial for fluency and comprehension. Consequently, RAMP analyzed Arabic reading textbooks and identified gaps, primarily in grade 2, prompting the introduction of decodable leveled reading books. The study's central objective is to gauge the effectiveness of these books in classrooms. Designed to bolster phonics skills, they aim to bridge proficiency gaps among different-performing students. The literature review discusses decodable and leveled reading books, highlighting their benefits. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, using pre-tests, post-tests, and questionnaires to measure changes in reading fluency, comprehension, and perceptions. The results showed a significant improvement in first-grade emergent readers using decodable books, while struggling third-grade readers exhibited enhanced oral reading proficiency. Second-grade results were less clear. Students reported increased interest and faced challenges, underscoring the need for tailored resources. Teachers largely endorsed the books and recommended wider implementation. In conclusion, the study seeks to advance the "all children reading" goal by enhancing foundational skills for struggling students.

Implementing mother-tongue based education in a multilingual context like the Philippines requires a full appreciation of the many languages spoken across communities and schools and among students and their teachers. DepEd’s Learner Information System which assigns a language to students when they are registered fails to capture a true picture of the languages students speak, primarily because it relies on the teacher to select the language assigned to each student. For example, in Region V, most teachers simply assign “Bikol” to their students. The USAID-funded ABC+ project deployed a computerized language identification tool in region V and VI to more accurately assess students and teachers individually and thus identify the primary and secondary languages that they speak.