Language Use and Literacy Skills: READ Baseline Assessment and Situational Analysis, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

This report synthesizes data from a baseline survey of primary school students’ literacy skills and a situational analysis of learning and language use in the Chittagong Hills Tracts. Together, these findings will inform Save the Children’s literacy programming by exploring strengths and weaknesses in literacy development and identifying groups of students who are struggling to read at grade level.

Quantitative and qualitative data from both sources reveal that language, socioeconomic status, and the home literacy environment—especially access to reading materials at home—are the main drivers of learning disparities. These challenges are compounded by the dearth of reading materials in indigenous languages, and low levels of parental support for schooling among indigenous families who have come to expect little from an education system that is not inclusive of their language and culture.