Early Grade Reading: Egypt Case Dr. Reda Abouserie First Deputy to Minister of Education Egypt All Children Reading by 2015: From Assessment to Action Washington, DC April 12-14, 2010

The pre-university education system:  42,000 schools  17,000,000 students  1.2 million teachers  1.7 million staff members in the MOE system, including teachers

Pre-university Education in Egypt Egypt has achieved universal access to basic education The gender gap in basic education has almost been eliminated Basic education is free for all children in Egypt Textbooks are provided to all students at no cost However, The quality remains to be an issue, particularly in reading and writing in primary schools.

What does reading look like in Egyptian Schools? What does reading look like in Egyptian Schools? Utilizes a Whole Language Approach Taught within a Language Arts curriculum Scope and Sequence of curriculum driven by textbooks Ambitious performance objectives for students in early grades

No systematic, routine instruction of letter sounds Utilizes rote memorization of vocabulary words Large numbers of children come to school with little exposure to print or having been read to

Textbooks and Instructional Materials Nearly 100% of students have textbooks Almost all teachers have teachers guides Limited instructional materials other than textbooks Textbooks drive the content and skills students are taught

Textbooks in Egypt Mainly focus on introducing vocabulary words Around 925 vocabulary words introduced in grade 1, 435 words mentioned once. Vocabulary words have up to 6 syllables in grade 1

Many vocabulary words have little relevance or meaning to lives of the children Most words introduced in the textbook are not reinforced Textbooks are printed in small font

Teacher Preparation & Professional Development In early grade reading, there is no specific pre- service training On-going professional development does not focus on early grades reading No specific training in phonics or how teachers teach reading

R eading instruction in Egyptian Schools  90 minutes of daily instruction  No instruction in phonics  Teachers read text orally to students as the students “read” along in their textbooks  Students learn to reading by memorizing the textbook  Very little oral or independent reading  Many teachers do not follow guidelines in teacher’s text

Instructional practices in teaching reading Teachers primarily use large group instruction Instructional practices teachers use are driven by amount of content to cover in the textbook—not on student mastery of the content

Teaching techniques

Reading performance of students Based on the February 2009 administration of the EGRA

EGRA findings show that: There is grade progression: 4 th grade mean scores are higher than 3 rd grade means, which are higher than 2 nd grade mean scores. Letter sound knowledge is related to higher level skills, and moves students from basic to intermediate literacy levels Across all three grades, students that know letter sounds can read words in isolation, in the passage and spell words earlier than students who do not know letter sounds

Students in 2 nd Grade: About 5% of students have acquired basic literacy skills (Level 1). From 40% to 47 % of students are in the early stages of learning to read Over 50% of second graders are unable to identify letter sounds or read words in isolation.

Students in 3 rd Grade: About 15% of 3 rd grade students have acquired basic literacy skills Nearly half (~45%) of 3 rd grade students have acquired some basic reading skills. About 40% of third graders are non- readers.

Students in 4 th Grade: The performance of 4 th graders is more evenly distributed: About the same percentage of 4 th grade students (~27%) can read well as cannot read at all. The other half of students fall between these top and bottom quarters

Strategies and Approaches to address low student performance

Strategies and Approaches : Capitalize on successful pilots and available resources, Implementation of remedial programs Create proactive/preventive programs

Capitalize on successful pilots and resources: The Egyptian version of Sesame Street program and materials The pre-school phonetic reading readiness program Reading for All and National Book Program Summer reading and writing camps for low performers

Remedial Interventions: Reading and Writing Camps: Increased teachers’ ability to use a phonetic approach to teaching reading. Designed and enhanced instructional materials to use in conjunction with the Egyptian curriculum and textbooks.

Implemented training of trainers model to enhance reading and writing in primary schools. Worked with communities and district officials to increase opportunities and create contexts for children to read and write more.

Used play to reinforce learning Competition to reinforce writing letters and words

Games to test knowledge of letters and spelling

Proactive Interventions : A 5-year plan to increase access to pre- schooling Revision of Teachers Professional Development to link it to identified professional skills for early grade reading through the Professional Academy for Teachers (PAT) Ppre-school readiness program Early Grade Reading Program

Early Grade Reading Package (EGRP): Introduces routines in phonemic awareness, phonics and comprehension mapped to the grades 1-3 curriculum Teaches letter sounds paired with the instruction of letter names Introduces strategies to reinforce pre-reading, during reading and after reading comprehension activities and assessment activities

Early Grade Reading Package, cont Presents importance of teaching reading in the early grades and findings of EGRA in Upper Egypt to school and community leaders, select local district staff and teachers in grades K2 to 3 rd primary, Training for K2 and grade 1 teachers in phonemic and phonics routines, Training for grade 1-3 teachers strategies in comprehension and assessment activities

Conclusion: Standards, as well as monitoring and evaluation tools and systems are now in place to monitor progress The Ministry of Education is strongly committed to enhance literacy for all students;

Thank you