Reading Programs

In the Philippines
Education Quality and
Access for Learning
and Livelihood Skills -
Phase 2 (EQuALLS2)
• EQuALLS2 was launched in July 2006 to
increase access to quality education and
livelihood skills in the Philippines.
• With specific emphasis on poverty- and
conflict-affected areas of Mindanao
• Strengthen formal and alternative education
and reintegrate out-of school youth into the
economy.
• The project’s focus on improving teachers’
English use and instruction has evolved to
emphasize the importance of reading skills, in
light of the alarmingly low reading
assessments of elementary school students
and their teachers.
 s

• The Whole School Reading Program (WSRP)

was structured as a school-based approach to
strengthen teachers’ English reading fluency
and comprehension skills and students’
English reading skills.
It was designed to address the following
findings:

• National Achievement Test results revealed a

correlation between low math and science
scores and gaps in students’ reading
comprehension.
The scores also revealed that many early grade
students (grades 1–3) and intermediate students
(grades 4–6) were struggling readers.

WSRP was designed to include the whole

teaching staff (all subject areas) and the whole
student population (grades 1–6) within a given
school.
PREMISE => Providing teachers with the tools
(e.g., passages for oral reading practice and
monitoring) and time to improve their reading
skills through reading and discussion sessions,
coupled with intensive training in reading
instruction

Improved results for teachers and students.

• Training of primary teachers in early grade
reading using the Guide to Early Reading
Instruction.
• Face-to-face training of all school teachers

• Distribution of over 1 million supplementary

books and a teacher’s guide on how to use the
texts for reading enhancement activities
• After 6 months of targeted interventions,
WSRP students significantly outscored non-
WSRP students on all basic reading skills.

• Reading comprehension increased the most:

316% for grade 2 students.

• Grade 2 WSRP students scored an average of

53% higher than non-WSRP students on all skills
tested.
• Basa Pilipinas supports the implementation of
the language and literacy component of the K-
12 curriculum for Grades 1 to 3.
 3 Main Objectives

• Improve reading
instruction

• Improve reading delivery

systems

• Improve access to quality

reading materials
 Improve Reading Comprehension
• Comprehensive reading
instruction training plan for
grades 1, 2, and 3.

• The most common training

needs identified were
teaching of beginning
reading, the “art of
questioning,” and support
to Mother Tongue
instruction, including
transitions to Filipino and
English.
 Improve Reading Delivery System

• Facilitation of a workshop
• The development of campaigns for improved
community awareness on the importance of
early grade reading.
Improve Access to Quality Reading Material
• Basa mobilized support from its private sector
partners, Brothers Brother Foundation,
National Book Store Foundation and Petron
Foundation, to distribute close to 25,000 early
grade reading books.
• Helped increased the fluency of students by
an additional nine words per minutes and
reading comprehension gains 23%.
Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP)
Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP)

GRADE/YEAR LEVEL % of students based on the # of

enrollees

Grade 1
100
Grade 6
68.38
High School
42.50
College
14
Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP)

• There was a decline each year because of poor

comprehension skills and inability to succeed
in school—the main problems are in…

Reading
Science
Mathematics
Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP)

X
Being one of the most highly
educated developing
countries with high
enrollment rates

It is apparent that reading proficiency

is the key to early
literacy success and eventual success
in school and the work world.
 Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP)

Agenda for Basic Education Reform of the

Aquino Administration

• is to ensure that, children everywhere in the

country, boys and girls alike, will be able to
complete a full course of primary schooling.
 Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP)
ECARP
• States that every child must be a reader by
Grade 1, with the introduction of the
mandatory pre-schooling.

• Sometimes described as the zero nonreaders

goal by Grade 4
Two major Programs under ECARP
Two major programs under ECARP
1. Philippine Informal Reading Inventory

• The assessment component of ECARP which is

done by the teachers one on one especially
for the oral reading portion.
Two major Programs under ECARP

2. It is patterned to the New Zealand Reading

Recovery Program for Grade 1 students.

• a short-term, school-based intervention program

for low literacy achievers.

• It involves intensive one-to-one lessons for 30

minutes a day with a trained literacy teacher for an
average period of 20 weeks.
 Proof of Achievement
Proof of Achievement

• Every student should show written or oral

evidence of having read at least two books a
year, one per semester prior to promotion to
the next level.
 Proof of Achievement
• The results of the National Achievement Test
(NAT) for Grade 6 in the SY 2009-10 reflected a
passing rate of only 69.21%. This already
marked a 24% improvement over the 2005-06
passing rate, but shows that reforms are still
urgently needed to achieve substantial
improvement.
"When you give someone a book, you
don’t give him just paper, ink, and
glue, You give him the possibility of a
whole new life.”

--Christopher Morley
 Thank you
For Listening