EGRA results
In Haiti, we now have the first results of an EGRA baseline assessment we conducted last school year. The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) is a type of standardized test used to assess and measure the reading skills and literacy of young children, typically in the early grades of primary school. EGRA tests are designed to evaluate a child’s ability to recognize and understand written words, comprehend simple texts, and perform basic reading-related tasks. At the University, data collectors were trained and they visited 28 schools to conduct the assessment. 213 children participated.
EGRA involves tasks such as:
- Letter recognition: Assessing whether a child can identify and name individual letters.
- Letter sound recognition: Evaluating whether a child can associate letter sounds with the corresponding letters (phonemic awareness).
- Word recognition: Testing a child’s ability to read and pronounce individual words.
- Passage reading: Measuring a child’s ability to read and comprehend short passages or sentences.
- Reading fluency: Assessing how quickly and accurately a child can read a given text.
- Reading comprehension: Evaluating a child’s ability to understand and answer questions about what they’ve read.
We are now working on an EGRA report. The first results provide enormous insight into the reading skills of children and will guide us in improving our Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education program.
Training in Mother Tongue Based Education
In order to improve the quality of education in Haiti, INCE-Haiti has decided to train teachers and school principals to implement the systematic method of reading in Creole “M ap li nèt ale” and in French “Je parle bien français” in the 1st and 2nd years of primary education in the 15 schools benefiting from the project.
The training covered: the use of the teacher’s guide (Creole and French), the student’s book, the workbook and the summative evaluation and student progress.
The training was held at Université Chretienne du Nord d’Haiti (UCNH) – Limbé- Nord-Haiti in September 2023. There were 44 participants. In general, we can say that the training was a success on both sides. We have adopted a methodological approach based on active methods centered on the learner and his needs.
Content of the training:
- Historicity of the “M ap li nèt ale” method
- Explanation of the scripted theory
- Practice on sound/letter production
- Presentation of the materials of the method
- Explanation of the organization of the method
- Explanation of the pedagogical approaches of the method
- Explanation of the pedagogical principles of the method
- Simulation of orientation lessons (1st grade Teachers)
- Simulation of Revision lessons (2nd grade Teachers)
- Evaluation in the method
