Youth, education, and security final summative performance evaluation : the Read program in the Dominican Republic

The Read intervention aimed to improve reading outcomes in grades 1–6 and was implemented in over 350 public schools, in 47 districts along the Duarte Corridor. The purpose of the Read Program final evaluation, conducted by Bizzel US in partnership with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago and ASISA Research Group, is to assess the overall activities conducted and outcomes achieved, the program participants, the effectiveness of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) plan as a tool for planning, implementation, and learning; the activity effectiveness; and its sustainability. The evaluation team employed a rigorous mixed methods approach, surveying teachers and principals in 80 Read schools, conducting classroom observations in 20 of them, and gathering qualitative data from 8 schools through focus group discussions and interviews with Readtrained teachers and stakeholders. In terms of how effectively Read achieved its objectives, the evaluation finds that, overall, the Read program positively impacted participants, including teachers, parents, and students, by improving reading abilities and fostering community involvement. However, findings demonstrate a need for consistent implementation of active learning strategies and differentiated instruction. Teacher turnover is also identified as a major limitation to having trained teachers in Read schools. As a result, the evaluation recommends MINERD adopt a policy endorsing the use of decodable/leveled books for effective reading instruction, address teacher turnover by replicating Read training, and provide ongoing support for differentiated instruction with recurrent feedback on its implementation. Given the positive reviews from all stakeholders regarding the Read program components, including teacher training, decodable books, and reading clubs, the evaluation recommends that MINERD sustain the intervention.