Language of Instruction

To measure the impact of SHRP on reading achievement, EGRA data were collected at the beginning of Primary 1 (P1) and then at the end of every school year through Primary 3, 4 or 5 depending on when the local language entered the program. Though there was little difference in local language cwpm at the end of P1, differences started to emerge at the end of P2 and by the end of P3, significant positive differences were found in 10 of the 12 languages.

Has reading achievement increased as a result of the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program? Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data collected for Cluster 2 at the end of P3 suggests improved progress towards reading proficiency in all 4 program languages. In all C2 languages, more learners in program schools are reading more words than learners in control schools in both English and Local Language.

Has reading achievement increased as a result of the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program? Is classroom teacher behavior improving based on program interventions? Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data collected for Cluster 2 shows that Leb Acӧli, Lugbarati, and Runyoro-Rutooro schools receiving the SHRP intervention are continuing to make small but significant progress towards reading proficiency. • All 4 Cluster 2 languages started out with very low levels of reading readiness at the beginning of P1. At the end of P2, Leb Acӧli and Runyoro-Rutooro schools receiving program interventions are performing significantly better than control schools in local language reading fluency, local language reading comprehension and in English reading fluency, with a medium to large effect size. • Teachers in program classrooms are teaching more from lesson plans that employ early grades reading methodology. Learners in program classrooms are more likely to read from printed material. • While teachers are receiving some classroom support from head teachers, follow up support by CCTs is insufficient • In general, there were no differences in reading scores for boys and girls, but they are noted in the report when they do occur.

Have fundamental reading skills increased as a result of the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program interventions? Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data collected for 4 Cluster 2 languages (local languages Lebacoli, Lugbarati, Lumasaba, and Runyoro-Rutoro) and English at baseline, beginning of P1 compared to data collected at the end of P1 show increases in foundational pre-reading and emergent reading skills, significantly higher than increases found in control schools. That being said, the overall reading gains and scores are still lower than the ideal. Program learners performed better than control learners in virtually all reading skills assessed, most significantly in emergent literacy and pre-reading skills.

This report summarizes the findings from a baseline assessment that was conducted in February and March, 2014 to determine the current status of reading achievement in the “Cluster 2” schools in which the Program will be working, as well as achievement in control1 schools that will be used as a basis for comparison in assessing the effectiveness of the interventions. The baseline assessment sets out to answer the following questions in an attempt to lay the foundation for and support a national literacy policy and subsequent reading program in primary schools nationwide. • What is the level of reading achievement among P1 and P32 learners in the local language and in English in Ugandan primary schools? • What is currently happening in P1 reading lessons? • How are teachers and schools supported to teach reading? • What should be the focus of future MoES and stakeholder support for reading?

This report summarizes the findings from a baseline assessment that was conducted in February and March, 2015 to determine the current status of reading achievement in the “Cluster 3” schools in which the Program is currently working, as well as achievement in control 1 schools that will be used as a basis for comparison in assessing the effectiveness of the interventions going forward. The baseline assessment sets out to answer the following questions in an attempt to lay the foundation for and support a national literacy policy and subsequent reading program in primary schools nationwide. -- What is the level of reading achievement among P1 and P32 learners in the local language and in English in Ugandan primary schools? -- What is currently happening in P1 reading lessons? -- How are teachers and schools supported to teach reading? -- What should be the focus of future MoESTS and stakeholder support for reading?

Has reading achievement increased as a result of the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program interventions? Early Grade Reading Assessment data collected for four Cluster 1 languages (Ateso, Leblango, Luganda and Runyankore-Rukiga) and English at the beginning of Primary 1 compared to end of Primary 4 show increases in fundamental reading skills, higher than increases found in control schools. No systematic differences were found between girls and boys. By the end of P4, learners in Program Schools are reading more words than learners in control schools and are closer to becoming fluent readers in both Local Language and English.

Has reading achievement increased as a result of the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program interventions? Early Grade Reading Assessment data collected for 4 Cluster 1 languages (Ateso, Leblango, Luganda and Runyankore-Rukiga) and English at the beginning of Primary 1 compared to end of Primary 3 show increases in fundamental reading skills, higher than increases found in control schools. By the end of P3, learners in Program Schools are reading more words than learners in control schools and are closer to becoming fluent readers in both Local Language and English.

Has reading achievement increased as a result of the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program interventions? Early Grade Reading Assessment data collected for 4 Cluster 1 languages (Ateso, Leblango, Luganda and Runyankore-Rukiga) and English show increases in fundamental reading skills, significantly higher than increases found in control schools. By the end of P2, learners in Program Schools could read more words and understand more of what they read than learners in control schools – this was true in all 4 Local Languages. Program learners could also read more words in English than learners in control schools.

To what extent did the Uganda School Health and Reading Program interventions1 improve early grade reading and the teaching of early grade reading in USAID/Uganda-supported primary schools over the course of the 2013 academic year? To answer this question, in October 2013, Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data were collected as a follow up to the February/March, 2013 Baseline data collection efforts. Basic oral reading skills were assessed in the local language (i.e., Ateso, Leblango, Luganda, or Runyankore- Synopsis of findings: • Emergent literacy skills (listening comprehension and segmenting words into syllables) have increased in both treatment and control schools. • The ability to identify letter sounds has increased • Oral reading fluency has increased among Luganda and Runyunkore Rukiga speaking learners but there was no significant difference between treatment and control. • Teachers are changing their behavior in the classroom: • Support to teachers to improve reading is increasing