Literacy Boost Bangladesh: Endline Report 2013

In 2011, Save the Children (SC) began the planning for the 2012 implementation of Literacy Boost in Meherpur District of Bangladesh. This intervention focuses on working with teachers and communities to improve children’s reading skills. A baseline assessment of 623 children in grade 3 was taken in February-March 2012, and in March 2013, follow-up data on 465 (75%) of the same children was collected to investigate change in Bangla reading skills.

This report details the change in Bangla reading skills of students who were in grade 3 during the 2011 baseline and who were in grade 4 during the 2013 endline. The assessment tested children’s skills in letter identification, reading of most-used words and pseudo words, oral reading fluency and accuracy, and reading comprehension. Inter-rater reliability for each of these skills was excellent. The 465 assessed children come from 18 Literacy Boost schools, which received one year of teacher training and community activities, and 14 nearby comparison schools, which received only the standard Save the Children Basic Education Sponsorship interventions.