Seventy percent of children in low- and middle-income countries can’t read and understand simple, age-appropriate text, but a new report offers evidence-based solutions to turn this around, the World Bank announced. The paper, endorsed by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel, reviews around 120 studies on effective reading instruction from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, covering more than 170 languages.
The report identifies six core skills students must learn—and teachers must learn to teach—to build literacy: oral language, phonological awareness, systematic phonics, reading fluency, reading comprehension strategies, and writing. Benjamin Piper from the Gates Foundation says learning to read unlocks everything.
“This report advances our understanding of what works for effective reading programs…It shows that the most effective approaches teach decoding and language comprehension through instruction that is explicit, systematic and comprehensive,” he said.
Data from early grade reading assessments of over 500,000 students across 48 countries in 96 languages shows the depth of the crisis. After three years of schooling, over 90% of students can’t identify letter names, letter sounds, or read simple words at expected levels. Failure to use evidence-based teaching methods is a main cause, but changing how teachers teach can fix this.
Luis Benveniste, World Bank Global Director for Education and Skills, says literacy is the cornerstone to education, lifelong skills, and meaningful employment. When children master literacy early, they learn better and are more able to adapt and thrive in fast-changing job markets. The report urges policymakers to make national commitments to ensure all children become skilled readers, choose appropriate languages of instruction, deliver explicit and systematic reading instruction in all six core skills, adapt instruction to language characteristics, and give teachers structured support with user-friendly materials and ongoing training.
