Commentary: Vulnerable children-A global perspective.

In this commentary, we discuss the global similarities in the intersections of poverty, disability, and learning, and share lessons that are being learned internationally that can inform U.S. domestic research and implementation. These lessons cover multiple aspects of learning and development, instructional materials and approaches, integration of social emotional and school climate considerations, and engagement of families and communities.

Health and development from preconception to 20 years of age and human capital.

Optimal health and development from preconception to adulthood are crucial for human flourishing and the formation of human capital. The Nurturing Care Framework, as adapted to age 20 years, conceptualises the major influences during periods of development from preconception, through pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence that affect human capital. In addition to mortality in children younger than 5 years, stillbirths and deaths in 5-19-year-olds are important to consider. The global rate of mortality in individuals younger than 20 years has declined substantially since 2000, yet in 2019 an estimated 8·6 million deaths occurred between 28 weeks of gestation and 20 years of age, with more than half of deaths, including stillbirths, occurring before 28 days of age. The 1000 days from conception to 2 years of age are especially influential for human capital. The prevalence of low birthweight is high in sub-Saharan Africa and even higher in south Asia. Growth faltering, especially from birth to 2 years, occurs in most world regions, whereas overweight increases in many regions from the preprimary school period through adolescence. Analyses of cohort data show that growth trajectories in early years of life are strong determinants of nutritional outcomes in adulthood. The accrual of knowledge and skills is affected by health, nutrition, and home resources in early childhood and by educational opportunities in older children and adolescents. Linear growth in the first 2 years of life better predicts intelligence quotients in adults than increases in height in older children and adolescents. Learning-adjusted years of schooling range from about 4 years in sub-Saharan Africa to about 11 years in high-income countries. Human capital depends on children and adolescents surviving, thriving, and learning until adulthood.

Assessing the Impact of Early Learning Programs in Africa.

We present results from early learning programs in six African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda. In partnership with ministries of education, RTI International has worked within government systems to support the design and deployment of locally contextualized materials, training, and assessment tools, with the goal of improving outcomes for early learners in primary schools, and in Kenya and Tanzania preprimary as well. Here we report on the experience and evidence of impact from specific programs in each country, including summary assessment results when available. In several countries with completed impact evaluations, there are significant and important learning gains of between 0.2 and 2.57 SD in effect size; in one case the percentage of students reaching grade-level reading proficiency increased from 12% to 47%. In the context of increased urgency surrounding what UNESCO has called a "global learning crisis," these experiences provide useful lessons for policymakers and practitioners alike.

Designing for Scale: Reflections on Rolling Out Reading Improvement in Kenya and Liberia.

Since 2008, the Ministries of Education in Liberia and Kenya have undertaken transitions from small-scale pilot programs to improve reading outcomes among primary learners to the large-scale implementation of reading interventions. The effects of the pilots on learning outcomes were significant, but questions remained regarding whether such large gains could be sustained at scale. In this article, the authors dissect the Liberian and Kenyan experiences with implementing large-scale reading programs, documenting the critical components and conditions of the program designs that affected the likelihood of successfully transitioning from pilot to scale. They also review the design, deployment, and effectiveness of each pilot program and the scale, design, duration, enabling conditions, and initial effectiveness results of the scaled programs in each country. The implications of these results for the design of both pilot and large-scale reading programs are discussed in light of the experiences of both the Liberian and Kenyan programs.

Sparking a Reading Revolution: Results of Early Literacy Interventions in Egypt and Jordan.

This article examines the effects of two early grade reading interventions in two Arabic-speaking contexts (Egypt and Jordan), developed in partnership with ministries of education. The interventions relied on similar research bases for improving reading instruction in Arabic. In Egypt, the results of a 166-school pilot led to the national scale-up of the Early Grade Reading Program for more than 4 million children in grades 1-3. Informed by Egypt's experience, a demonstration effort in 43 schools led to a national rollout in Jordan's 2,651 public primary schools and the creation of a remediation program. We reflect on the conditions that influenced the pilot and scale-up outcomes given the commitments made to "inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all" under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Great Expectations: A Framework for Assessing and Understanding Key Factors Affecting Student Learning of Foundational Reading Skills.

This article addresses the evolution of the underlying theories of change in global education reform efforts between 1990 and 2015, informed by the shift in focus from access to quality and learning. We review recent data regarding how different types of donor interventions (i.e., structural or pedagogical) have contributed to improved reading outcomes and compare effect sizes over a series of intervention studies conducted from 2003 to 2015. Against this background, we present a framework for understanding how the intensity, frequency, and fidelity of the interventions as well as the enabling environments of reform affect the magnitude and rates at which reading and learning outcomes can be expected to improve. In this, we present the context for the articles that follow, identifying the program design characteristics and types of interventions that increase the likelihood of successful expansion of the interventions commonly referred to as "scaling-up," the ability to sustain interventions, and the value (cost effectiveness) of reading programs in low- and middle-income countries.

Internal structure and standardized scores of the Spanish adaptation of the EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) for early reading assessment / Estructura interna y baremación de la adaptación española del EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) para la evaluación temprana de la lectura

BACKGROUND: The EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) is an assessment tool containing the main predictors of reading learning disabilities based on the National Reading Panel (NRP) (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000). This study has two main objectives: First, to analyze the internal structure of the EGRA, and second, to examine the validity and normative data for first and second grade primary school students in a Spanish-Speaking population. METHOD: This study had a sample of 400 children (196 female and 204 male) attending early grades of Primary School, between 6 and 8 years of age. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that the EGRA has acceptable psychometric properties and an internal structure that is based on the two main factors of «decoding and comprehension» and «oral comprehension». CONCLUSIONS: We believe that the normative data collected from this study may be useful for the early detection of «at risk» Spanish children having reading disabilities, as well as for planning of early reading education

ANTECEDENTES: EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) es un instrumento para la evaluación temprana de la lectura e incluye los principales componentes que según el National Reading Panel (NRP) (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000) predicen las dificultades de aprendizaje en lectura. El principal objetivo de este trabajo ha sido, por una parte, estudiar la estructura interna del EGRA y, por otra, analizar su validez y establecer datos normativos para 1º y 2º curso de Educación Primaria en población escolar española. MÉTODO: se seleccionó una muestra de 400 alumnos (196 niñas y 204 niños) pertenecientes al primer ciclo de Educación Primaria, cuyas edades oscilaban entre 6 y 8 años. RESULTADOS: los datos apuntan a que el EGRA reúne las características métricas exigibles a este tipo de pruebas y que su estructura interna responde a dos factores principales como sería la «descodificación y comprensión» y la «comprensión oral». CONCLUSIONES: los datos normativos obtenidos podrían ser utilizados para la detección temprana de niños españoles con riesgo de presentar dificultades de aprendizaje en la lectura, y también para la planificación de la enseñanza de la lectura en los primeros niveles de la escolaridad

Internal structure and standardized scores of the Spanish adaptation of the EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) for early reading assessment.

BACKGROUND: The EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) is an assessment tool containing the main predictors of reading learning disabilities based on the National Reading Panel (NRP) (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000). This study has two main objectives: First, to analyze the internal structure of the EGRA, and second, to examine the validity and normative data for first and second grade primary school students in a Spanish-Speaking population. METHOD: This study had a sample of 400 children (196 female and 204 male) attending early grades of Primary School, between 6 and 8 years of age. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that the EGRA has acceptable psychometric properties and an internal structure that is based on the two main factors of "decoding and comprehension" and "oral comprehension". CONCLUSIONS: We believe that the normative data collected from this study may be useful for the early detection of 'at risk' Spanish children having reading disabilities, as well as for planning of early reading education.