Assessing Early Grade Reading

With support from USAID and the World Bank, RTI International has developed and piloted a diagnostic tool for assessing the foundation skills of reading acquisition among children in the early grades of primary school (typically grades 1 to 3). The resulting Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), grounded in reading research and the consensus of an international expert panel of reading instruction and assessment specialists, has since been piloted in a dozen countries and languages (and counting). This presentation will share results from the pilot application of the EGRA in three languages: English, Spanish and French. Each of the assessment components is closely linked to research on the development of foundation skills in early literacy acquisition. As the assessment is competency- rather than curriculum-based there is great potential for use across a number of countries as a diagnostic tool for identifying areas that need improvement.