Early Grade Reading in Crisis: A Call to Action

The USAID LAC Reads Capacity Program (LRCP), implemented by the American Institutes for Research (AIR), in partnership with Juárez and Associates and local partners, works to increase the impact, scale, and sustainability of early-grade reading interventions in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.

Working in collaboration with USAID’s bilateral missions, governments, and key stakeholders, such as the Central American and Caribbean Early Literacy Network (RedLEI), the program facilitates understanding and application of evidence-based, context appropriate approaches to improving early grade reading.

This report presents the following summary of highlights from the Fourth Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (ERCE 2019) results with a focus on Central America and the Dominican Republic as an input to and stimulus for discussions of early grade reading in the region, and to demonstrate the ever more urgent need to improve reading outcomes in the early grades.

The recent results across the region, particularly in the lower grades and in the LRCP priority countries generally, paint a disheartening picture in which the majority of children are not reaching satisfactory levels of achievement in this fundamental skill which serves as the foundation of future learning.

The results underline the need for the prioritization of and commitment to understanding and implementing effective strategies for early-grade reading to ensure better opportunities and a brighter future for the region’s children.