Endline evaluation of reading outcomes in government primary schools (GPS)

The goal of the Reading Enhancement for Advancing Development (READ) project, funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is to improve the reading skills of children in grades I-III in Bangladesh. To assess the impact of the READ project on grade II and grade III children’s reading competencies, an evaluation was carried out in March-April 2018. The endline study found that the READ program played an important role in improving reading outcomes for grade II and grade III students. More students became independent readers in the READ schools. The study also found significant improvement in reading fluency and comprehension among READ school students, compared to comparison group; these achievements significantly improved from baseline as well. However, the endline study indicates that there is a need to further improve students’ fluency, which is below the level suggested by global research, even after significant improvement. In addition to reading achievement, the endline study found that the READ intervention changed the study habits of the students in the READ schools. Students in READ schools had better reading habits: they were more likely to borrow a book from the library, studied longer and were more likely to read with their peers, compared to the students in comparison schools. Students in READ schools also used decoding as a strategy to improve reading comprehension and become self-reliant readers. The endline study also found that a weaker home literacy environment led to lower scores on certain reading skills. Therefore, more focus should be given to home literacy environment in future literacy interventions.