Between February 2014 and November 2015, RTI International implemented the Reading and Access Research Activity (RARA). Funding was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/Nigeria through the Education Data for Decision Making (EdData) II task order (http://www.eddataglobal.org). The purpose of RARA was to provide data to better inform the Nigerian government, donor partners, civil society, and others about issues related to education access and reading outcomes, issues related to Goal 1 and Goal 3, respectively, of USAID’s Education Strategy. Specifically, the research RARA conducted in Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, and Sokoto states is intended to inform future interventions aimed at increasing access to education (in both formal government and non-formal religious schools) and improving children’s literacy skills, specifically in Hausa. This report summarizes activities and outcomes.

This early grade reading material is made possible through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Nigeria Reading and Access Research Activity (EdData Task Order Number 26, EHC-E-00-04-00004-00) implemented by RTI International. It was tested in a controlled experiment that demonstrated effectiveness of the approach on improving reading skills.

This poster presented at the 2016 Comparative International Education Society (CIES) Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, explores the relationship between Language of Instruction on pupil EGRA outcomes in Zambia and Ghana and uses GIS data to map information on languages spoken in a given area (from SIL Ethnologue data) with information on school language of instruction.

Article published in Comparative Education Review. Published abstract: Research in sub-Saharan Africa investigating the effect of mother tongue (MT) literacy instruction at medium scale is limited. A randomized controlled trial of MT literacy instruction was implemented in 2013 and 2014 as part of the Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative in Kenya. We compare the effect of two treatment groups—the base PRIMR program teaching literacy in English and Kiswahili and the PRIMR-MT program, which taught literacy in English, Kiswahili, and mother tongue—in two different language environments. Implementation of the MT program faced challenges because many educators were not speakers of the languages, some communities resisted mother tongue instruction, and some areas were more language heterogeneous. Effect sizes on MT literacy averaged between 0.3 and 0.6 standard deviations. The base PRIMR program also increased MT learning outcomes in some measures but had smaller effects than the PRIMR-MT program in oral reading fluency and comprehension.

Article published in Writing Systems Research. Published Abstract: Reading research suggests that script type and writing systems have a relationship with children’s ability to recognise letters, syllables and words. In Ethiopia, the scripts used for writing language differ by visual complexity and the psycholinguistic grain size of the script. The Ge’ez-script languages have alphasyllabic-based writing systems, while the Latin-script languages have phoneme-based writing systems. These differences in script and the differences in aspects of the writing system influence early reading acquisition. We exploited a large, regionally representative data set assessing a variety of early reading tasks in six Ethiopian languages to estimate the impact of script and aspects of writing system differences on early reading outcomes in the areas of letter identification, word reading, non-word decoding and story reading. We made comparisons between language outcomes using Ge’ez and Latin scripts, controlling for student background and school socio-economic status (SES). Additional analyses compared across-script and writing system differences within regions and gender. We found that Ethiopian script and writing system differences have implications for instructional methods for letter identification and word decoding.

Nepal Early Grade Reading Assessment, Education Management Efficiency Study, and Teacher Observation Study This is the final report for the Nepal Early Grade Reading Assessment, Education Management Efficiency Study, and Teacher Observation Study in 2014. The report provides findings related to the research questions of the study regarding the following topics: Education Leadership, Management, Practices, and Attitudes; Knowledge and Practices Related to the Teaching of Reading; Availability of Teaching and Learning Materials; Opportunities for Mother-Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education; Capacity and Readiness of Existing Teacher Professional Development System; and Teacher Motivation and Participation. The activity takes place under the EdData Task Order 15: Data for Education Programming in Asia and Middle East (DEP/AME)

The attached survey instruments were used to analyze various learning materials as part of the Survey of Children's Reading Materials in African Languages in Eleven Countries (part of the DERP program).

information on the available supply of early grade reading (EGR) materials. The approach included the development of a questionnaire and a protocol for data collection. The survey results will serve primarily to inform the Global Reading Repository by providing a detailed description of the current supply of EGR materials in African languages. This document specifically summarizes the findings from Early Grade Reading Materials Survey conducted in Zambia. (Part of the DERP program).

The purpose of the Reading Materials Survey was to develop an approach to collecting information on the available supply of early grade reading (EGR) materials. The approach included the development of a questionnaire and a protocol for data collection. The survey results will serve primarily to inform the Global Reading Repository by providing a detailed description of the current supply of EGR materials in African languages. This document specifically summarizes the findings from Early Grade Reading Materials Survey conducted in Uganda.

The purpose of the Reading Materials Survey was to develop an approach to collecting information on the available supply of early grade reading (EGR) materials. The approach included the development of a questionnaire and a protocol for data collection. The survey results will serve primarily to inform the Global Reading Repository by providing a detailed description of the current supply of EGR materials in African languages. This document specifically summarizes the findings from Early Grade Reading Materials Survey conducted in Tanzania.