Implementing reading lesson plans with high fidelity boosts Grade 1 student reading outcomes in the USAID/Madagascar Mahay Mamaky Teny program

In this post, we describe how after just 3 months of intervention, Grade 1 students participating in the Mahay Mamaky Teny (MMT) or “I know how to read” pilot program in Madagascar demonstrated greater gains than control students in reading outcomes. For this evaluation, not only do we analyze Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data but we also examine the effects of intervention dosage by integrating measures of fidelity of implementation of the MMT program.

Fidelity of implementation (FOI) refers to the extent to which an intervention is implemented as designed. In this case, we measured FOI with a tablet-based classroom observation tool to assess how well teachers implemented MMT’s teaching and learning materials. With this analysis, we show that the net causal effect of receiving the MMT program and implementing at a high level of fidelity is positive in boosting Grade 1 student reading outcomes after only 3 months of intervention.