Impact Evaluation of Literacy Boost in Laos

This report examines the results of a learner background survey and reading assessment conducted in October 2017 as the endline evaluation of a pilot Literacy Boost project in Bolikhamxai Province in Laos. Funded by Save the Children Korea, Literacy Boost aims to improve children’s emergent literacy skills through teacher training, community reading activities, and age-appropriate local language material creation.

This quasi-experimental evaluation found that Literacy Boost has had a measurable impact on some foundational skills, such as letter identification and decoding words. The results suggest that the average student has benefited from the Literacy Boost program when compared with counterparts in schools that did not receive the program. Most importantly, Literacy Boost has also been successful in moving students from emergent reading levels to basic reading levels – a key objective of the program.