How Effective Are Early Grade Reading Interventions? A Review of the Evidence

We present a definition of EGR interventions as programs that aim to strengthen core reading skills in grades 1 through 4 by training teachers to teach reading using simplified instruction and evidence-based curricula, and by employing a combination of complementary approaches. We also clarify the theoretical reasons for why these interventions should improve literacy. Furthermore, we summarize evidence from 15 EGR interventions—11 from sub-Saharan Africa, two from Middle East and North Africa, and two from East Asia and the Pacific—and find that EGR interventions are not a guaranteed means to improve reading, and they rarely lead to fluency in the short term, but they are a mostly reliable means to make substantial improvements in reading skills over a short period of time, across a variety of contexts, with average effects equating to about three years of schooling.
Source: Educational Research Review - Category: Child Development Source Type: research