Phonics and Foreign Aid: Lessons from a Decade of USAID Early-grade Reading Evaluations

Over the past twenty years, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has refined a package of support for early-grade reading, sometimes referred to as “structured pedagogy,” which has been heralded as one of the most cost-effective ways to improve learning outcomes in the developing world. The agency has also set a global standard for rigorous, mandatory, independent evaluations of all its major activities -- producing dozens of randomized trials and quasi-experimental evaluations of early-grade reading programs around the world.

In this seminar, a team of researchers at CGD and others present new analysis of USAID's evaluation portfolio, quantifying the impacts on pupils' reading outcomes and examining the cost-effectiveness of American aid. The presentation is followed by a discussion of policy implications and broader lessons for the agency and the education sector.