Early Grade Reading Study II 2017: Wave 1 (South Africa)

Abstract

The Early Grade Reading Study II is a Randomized Control Trial that evaluated two early grade reading interventions in 180 primary schools in two districts in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa. The interventions focused on early learning of English as a second language and were implemented with Grade 1 teachers in 2017, Grade 2 teachers in 2018, and Grade 3 teachers in 2019. Across all three years of implementation, the study attempted to measure the causal impact on learner reading performance and investigated the change mechanisms of a structured pedagogic programme. Data on the interventions and outcomes was collected in 2017 (waves 1 and 2), 2018 (wave 3) and 2019 (wave 4) with assessments of the same learners in each wave, as well as interviews with the learners' parents and teachers, and their school principles. The teacher interviews included short English reading tests.