Malawi National EGRA Baseline for Standards 1 and 2, Chichewa

The assessment was conducted in a nationally representative sample of 86 Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) primary schools. A total of 1,684 students, comprising 838 Standard 1 and 846 Standard 2 students, were randomly selected from each school. The sample consisted of equal numbers of boys and girls in each standard from each school. The assessment results are representative of Standard 1-2 students of MoEST primary schools in Malawi. The findings of this Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) provide the national baseline measure against which the MoEST National Reading Programme (NRP) will report future progress in early reading proficiency among Standard 1-2 students in Chichewa. The EGRA was implemented by a cadre of MoEST inspectors, supervisors, and primary school teachers with support from MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Activity. The EGRA measures included syllable reading, familiar word reading, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension. The assessment results showed that a significant proportion of students in both Standards 1 and 2 scored zero on the reading subtests. The distribution of students on the syllable reading subtest showed that a higher percentage of Standard 1 students scored below the median compared to Standard 2 students. The familiar words subtest results indicated that a higher percentage of Standard 1 students scored above the median compared to Standard 2 students. The oral reading fluency subtest results showed that a higher percentage of Standard 2 students scored above the median compared to Standard 1 students. The reading comprehension subtest results indicated that a higher percentage of Standard 2 students scored above the median compared to Standard 1 students. The assessment results also showed that there were significant gender differences in reading performance, with girls outperforming boys in all subtests. The pupil questionnaire results showed that students' reading experiences at home and after school were limited. The majority of students reported that they did not have access to books or reading materials at home. The school visit data showed that teachers reported that they did not have adequate resources to support reading instruction. The assessment results provide a baseline measure of early grade reading skills in Malawi and will inform the development of reading interventions and programs to improve reading proficiency among Standard 1-2 students. The proposed Malawi benchmarks for Standards 1-3 are based on the assessment results and will be used to monitor progress in early reading proficiency among Standard 1-2 students in Chichewa. The benchmarks are as follows: for Standard 1, 20% of students should be able to read 10 familiar words per minute, 30% should be able to read 20 familiar words per minute, and 40% should be able to read 30 familiar words per minute. For Standard 2, 30% of students should be able to read 20 familiar words per minute, 40% should be able to read 30 familiar words per minute, and 50% should be able to read 40 familiar words per minute. The assessment results also showed that there were significant differences in reading performance among students from different socio-economic backgrounds. Students from higher socio-economic backgrounds outperformed students from lower socio-economic backgrounds in all subtests. The assessment results provide a baseline measure of early grade reading skills in Malawi and will inform the development of reading interventions and programs to improve reading proficiency among Standard 1-2 students.