USAID-Leer Baseline Report

Abstract

The present report contains the baseline study for the project USAID-Leer which is to be implemented from June 2015 to June 2020. USAID-Leer is an initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In order to create and show that the USAID-Leer intervention is an effective program that improves reading instruction and the early acquisition of reading skills, a baseline study with an experimental design was conducted. This will allow for an impact evaluation upon program completion in 5 years, where the Leer group (i.e. 200 of the schools receiving the Leer intervention program) are expected to show reading outcomes above those of the control group. Leer also aims to reduce the acceptability of gender based violence, reduce bullying and school violence and increase the inclusion of children with disabilities and special education needs in mainstream schools. The present study shows that second grade Dominican children read at levels far below those expected of children by grade two. All reading related skills had low accuracy rates, save for working memory, which is a cognitive process necessary for learning. In addition, girls and boys perform similarly on reading with girls performing only slightly better than boys in some subcomponents of reading and, while there is a high rate of disability; reports are unreliable as teachers are likely to attribute disabilities to children who have not been properly diagnosed. Other results show that teachers and school principals give favorable reports of their work environment and report low incidence of bullying, yet almost half of teachers find gender based violence (GBV) acceptable. The infrastructure checklists show that most schools are accessible but challenges remain in offering students adequate technology and library facilities. The results of this study not only provide us with a baseline assessment of early reading skills in second grade students, but also teacher and school principal´s attitudes towards inclusive education and gender based violence. With this information, adequate strategies can be designed and implemented in order to improve reading, GBV, inclusion, and violence in target schools.