International Education Projects: Ethiopia
Reading for Ethiopia's Achievement Developed (READ) Technical Assistance Project (2012-2017)
Client/Agency
United States Agency for International Development
Description
This project supports the Ethiopian Ministry of Education (MOE) in its efforts to develop a nationwide reading and writing program. The objective of the project is to improve the reading and writing skills of children in grades one through eight in both their mother tongue and English, as measured by improvements in learning outcomes. The project is expected to reach 15 million children in all schools and all regions of Ethiopia.
RTI is undertaking the following five core tasks during the five-year implementation period: (a) developing reading and writing materials appropriate for primary classrooms and pre- and in-service teacher training; (b) applying language-specific teaching and learning methodologies and strategies that focus on helping students learn to read and write effectively; (c) supporting and enhancing teaching and learning through appropriate technology and teaching aids; (d) providing technical assistance support to the Regional State Education Bureau and the Ministry of Education or the READ Institutional Improvement project; and (e) conducting midpoint and end-of-project Early Grade Reading Assessments (EGRA) to measure the impact of new curriculum, materials, and teaching.
Early Grade Reading Assessment for Ethiopia (2010)
Client/Agency
United States Agency for International Development
Description
RTI conducted an Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) in 8 of Ethiopia's 11 regional states to assess students' ability to recognize letters, read words and simple stories, and comprehend what is read. The EGRA team assessed more than 13,000 students in second and third grades in over 330 schools in 6 local languages.
Results
The study established a nationally representative baseline to inform educators and policy makers of the current status of students' reading performance. The results of the EGRA prompted the Ministry of Education to have each Regional Education Bureau review its mother-tongue reading curricula so that revisions to textbooks and teaching guides will address deficiencies revealed in the assessments.
This project was a task order of the EdData II contract.
More Information
- Assessing the State of National Early Grade Reading in Ethiopia (newsletter article)