Literacy Boost Ethiopia: Baseline Report 2012

This report compares students in clusters of Literacy Boost schools with students at randomly selected clusters of neighboring schools and establishes baseline reading results for all students between April 6^th and April 30^th, 2012. The survey and reading assessment covered 720 grade 2 students throughout 36 schools in the Wonchi and Hidabu Abote districts of the Oromia region in Ethiopia. The 36 schools were split into three clusters containing 15 primary schools designated to receive Save the Children’s (SC) Literacy Boost program in partnership with World Vision, and five clusters containing 21 comparison schools received no intervention. The presents a snapshot of the emergent literacy skills of grade 2 students in this schools and informs the adaptation of SC’s Literacy Boost program in this context.

Data includes students’ scores on a number of subtests administered in student’s native language of Afan Oromo and associated with five literacy skills (concepts about print, letter knowledge, most used words, fluency, accuracy, and either oral or reading comprehension). In addition, information was collected on students’ background characteristics, home literacy environment and practices, and school environment.