BR-T1518 : Development of a toolkit for assessment and digitalization of early literacy content.

The objective of the Technical Cooperation (TC) is to strengthen the tools of the Let´s all learn to read1 program. This will include a reading fluency and accuracy assessment instrument and a hybrid course for literacy training. Background. Brazil stands out in LAC for having a national literacy policy that highlights the importance of this process in the initial years of primary education. Proof of this are the results in the Estudio Regional Comparativo y Explicativo (ERCE) 2019 tests where 57% of the students in the fourth year of primary school achieved the expected learning in the reading test. Minister Milton Ribeiro expressed the following regarding the test results: "Our results in the 4th grade are among the best and we will improve even more, since literacy is one of the priorities of this administration." Despite this achievement, the same results show that four out of ten students in 4th grade are not literate, showing that there is still a way to go. Additionally, after two years of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic and no national evaluations that indicate student performance, it is likely that progress has suffered a setback in learning in reading that will have lasting consequences in the academic performance of students. The early years of learning to read are critical to later academic success. To support the Brazilian government in its objective of increasing the percentage of literate students at the appropriate age (end of 3rd grade of Ensino Fundamental 1), at the request of the National Education Council (CNE), the IDB allocated resources from Improvement of Efficiency and Service Delivery of Education in Brazil in times of COVID19, (BR- T1447) to the adaptation of the materials of the Let's All Learn to Read program in Portuguese. During the process of adapting materials, it was identified that the program did not have a teacher training component or an evaluation instrument to measure the progress of students during their school career, which are cornerstones to offer the educational system a comprehensive program. That is why, at the beginning of 2022, we received a new request from the CNE to continue developing the components of the Let's all learn to read program with a view to responding effectively to the needs of the educational system. The teaching of initial reading and writing, due to the age of the children, the availability of resources and the nature of the process, in addition to the digital gaps, the lack of teacher training to teach remotely, and the inequalities in the homes for supporting children pose additional challenges. A successful distance education requires the development of digital and printed teaching materials, as well as evaluation instruments and distance teacher training. Likewise, evaluation instruments are required to measure the learning levels of students in distance modalities. Additionally, it is necessary to adapt and prepare materials for the eventual return to classes, either in person or in hybrid modalities.