Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) CI Analysis Report: Senegal All Children Reading/Lecture Pour Tous Early Grade Reading Assessment Cours d’Initiation/First Grade Study 2018

The assessment took place in May 2018 in 212 schools across four regions of Senegal, with a final analytic sample of 2,166 first-grade students. The students were assessed in the national language chosen for use in the national language reading program in the first two grades at their school. The assessment included subtasks such as listening comprehension, letter sounds, familiar words, connected-text oral reading, and reading comprehension. The results showed that the majority of students across language groups demonstrated competent listening comprehension skills, with average scores ranging from 67% to 77%. However, letter sound identification scores ranged from 20 to 26 correct letters per minute, indicating that first-grade students were at a beginner stage and, for some, entering a developing stage for understanding the alphabetic principle. The average number of familiar words read ranged from 4 to 6 words per minute, indicating that first graders were at a beginning to just entering a developing stage in word reading. On the connected text passage, students in the Pulaar group read an average of 2 words per minute, while their peers in the Seereer and Wolof groups read nearly 5 and 6 words per minute. Similarly, students in the Pulaar group correctly answered an average of 6.2% of reading comprehension questions, compared with 17% and 15% in the Seereer and Wolof groups respectively. The main performance indicator of interest for this study was Indicator 4 from the Lecture Pour Tous AMELP, which measured the average student score for accuracy in reading connected text. The results showed that students in the Wolof and Seereer groups were able to read 25% and 22% of words in the passage correctly, with the Pulaar group score at 8%. Across language groups, students in Fatick and Kaolack generally read words in the passage more accurately than their peers in Kaffrine and Matam. There were no statistically significant differences between boys and girls on this indicator. The results of this study can be contextualized by comparing the proportion of students unable to identify one letter or word across subtasks. The proportion of CI students at baseline and those in this study unable to identify one letter or word ranged from 20 to 40% across subtasks. The results of this study provide a measure of basic reading skills of students in Grade 1 in Senegal in three national languages and identify the characteristics most closely associated with student reading performance. The assessment results can be used to inform the development of reading instruction and materials for the Lecture Pour Tous program. The results suggest that students in the Pulaar group require additional support in reading connected text, while students in the Seereer and Wolof groups require support in reading comprehension. The results also suggest that students in Fatick and Kaolack require additional support in reading connected text compared to their peers in Kaffrine and Matam. The Lecture Pour Tous program aims to support reading development of students in the first two years of elementary school in three national languages. The program is led by the Senegalese Ministry of Education and supported by USAID. The program's Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP) includes Indicator 4, which measures the average student score for accuracy in reading connected text. The results of this study provide a measure of basic reading skills of students in Grade 1 in Senegal in three national languages and identify the characteristics most closely associated with student reading performance.