All Children Reading–Asia (ACR-Asia) Quarterly Progress Report October 2019 to December 2019

The project aims to improve early grade reading (EGR) skills for 100 million children in Asia, directly contributing to the US Agency for International Development's (USAID's) education goal. ACR–Asia provides technical, logistical, and implementation services to USAID Missions in Asia, countries in the region with limited USAID presence, and the Asia Regional Bureau in Washington, DC. To achieve this goal, ACR–Asia builds capacity and leadership of key education stakeholders from governmental and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to implement evidence-based, high-impact EGR programs. The project is in the fourth year of implementation, with a focus on increasing impact, scale, and sustainability of reading outcomes for primary learners (grades 1–5). The ACR–Asia task order has three intermediate results (IRs) and six sub-IRs. IR 1: Leadership and Capacity Building aims to increase the capacity of USAID Mission staff and partners in the education sector, as well as advance education partnerships. IR 2: Evidence and Evaluation focuses on determining the effectiveness of specific reading interventions, increasing the ability of USAID Missions and key education partners to collect, analyze, and use data for decision-making, and actively disseminating up-to-date knowledge of EGR to target audiences and stakeholders. IR 3: Design and Implementation Support aims to increase the institutional capacity of USAID field missions and partners to design, implement, and take to scale evidence-based, high-impact EGR programs. The project's ongoing activities include supporting USAID Missions, partners, and governments in the Asia region to improve reading outcomes for primary learners. Implementation progress for the quarter October–December 2019 is reported. Activity 1.15: Burma Education Sector Assessment was conducted, and Activity 2.3: Build Out EGR Barometer was implemented, including dissemination and outreach efforts. Activity 3.1: Cambodia Technical Assistance for Coordination and Collaboration in EGR (All Children Reading–Cambodia) was also implemented, focusing on building capacity and leadership of key education stakeholders. In addition, Activity 3.8: USAID/Philippines Support to DepEd (All Children Reading–Philippines) and Activity 3.9: Technical Assistance to Uzbekistan Ministry of Public Education were implemented. The project also supported the Global Book Alliance and reviewed the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) for Time to Read Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Monitoring and evaluation updates were provided for ACR–Asia and USAID/Philippines. The project's progress was tracked using various indicators, including the number of USAID Mission staff and partners trained, the number of education stakeholders reached, and the number of EGR programs implemented. The project's financial report for the quarter October–December 2019 was also provided, showing expenditures and income. International travel completed and planned for upcoming quarters was also reported. The project's activity tracker was updated to reflect the progress made during the quarter.