Quarterly Performance Monitoring Report- 09/2013-03/2014

The central team is organized into three units: the technical reading team, the partnership team, and the Monitoring/Evaluation/Research unit. In six regions of the country, READ teams are in place, each comprised of 41 people, reaching 660 primary schools across 11 districts. The project's target group includes 43,651 male and 42,992 female students in grades 1-3, totaling 86,643 students, and 1,421 male and 1,298 female teachers, totaling 2,719 teachers. The project had three major tasks in the first half of the year: recruitment, team formation, and office set-up; creating consensus on the technical approach to reading instruction and assessment; and cultivating a structural collaboration with the Directorate of Primary Education, National Curriculum and Textbook Board, and National Academy of Primary Education. A series of technical workshops and meetings with the Government of Bangladesh created clarity about the training that will take place and how it will contribute to better reading outcomes in the classroom. By March 2014, the baseline tools to measure children's reading skills were designed, and independent research teams were trained to collect data from a sample of schools from three different groups: schools with both PROTEEVA and READ interventions, schools with just PROTEEVA activities, and control GPS schools. The project's objectives include increasing reading competences among grade 1-3 students in READ-supported schools in the selected districts. Key indicators include the percentage of students who can read and understand the meaning of grade-level text, the percentage of students who can fluently read grade-level text, and the percentage of grade 1-3 children who scored 60% and above in Bangla in the final exam. The project has made significant progress in the first half of the year, with all three major tasks on track. The technical reading team has developed a comprehensive approach to reading instruction and assessment, and the partnership team has established strong relationships with local officials and set up office systems in six regions. The Monitoring/Evaluation/Research unit has designed baseline tools to measure children's reading skills and trained independent research teams to collect data from a sample of schools. The project's implementation is expected to have a positive impact on the reading skills of grade 1-3 students in READ-supported schools in the selected districts. The project's objectives and indicators are aligned with the Government of Bangladesh's education policy, and the project's implementation is expected to contribute to better reading outcomes in the classroom.