Working Paper: NBER ID: w17185
Authors: Ama Baafra Abeberese; Todd J. Kumler; Leigh L. Linden
Abstract: We show that a short-term (31 day) reading program, designed to provide age-appropriate reading material, to train teachers in their use, and to support teachers' initial efforts for about a month improves students' reading skills by 0.13 standard deviations. The effect is still present three months after the program but diminishes to 0.06 standard deviations, probably due to a reduced emphasis on reading after the program. We find that the program also encourages students to read more on their own at home. We find no evidence that improved reading ability improves test scores on other subjects.
Keywords: reading program; randomized evaluation; Philippines; education; literacy
JEL Codes: I21; I28; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| SAS reading program (C87) | students' reading skills (A21) |
| SAS reading program (C87) | number of books students read at home (Y50) |
| students' reading skills (A21) | performance in subjects like math and social studies (A21) |
| students' reading skills (post-intervention) (I21) | students' reading skills (three months post-intervention) (I21) |