The ABC+ project, a collaboration between the Department of Education (DepEd), USAID, and various other organizations, aims to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of up to two million students in the Philippines. This ambitious project focuses on early grade learning, recognizing its crucial role in shaping children's future success.
Key aspects of the ABC+ project:
- Instructional Delivery: Enhances children's reading skills in their mother tongue and Filipino/English, while strengthening foundational math concepts.
- Materials Development: Creates resources that foster cognitive, social, and emotional development.
- Education Systems Strengthening: Builds DepEd's capacity to support and sustain improved early grade learning practices.
Core values of the ABC+ project:
- #WECULTURE: Collaboration with DepEd to achieve shared goals.
- #ROOTEDINCONTEXT: Filling gaps and complementing existing DepEd initiatives.
- #INVESTINGEARLY: Recognizing the importance of early literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional learning.
- #COLLABORATION: Fostering partnerships between schools, homes, and communities.
- #VALUEOFMOTHERTONGUE: Advocating for mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE).
The Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA) is a key tool within the ABC+ project:
- Purpose: Classifies learners based on reading profiles and identifies those needing extra support.
- Benefits:
- Rapid and efficient (5-8 minutes).
- Low-tech and multi-modal (flexible administration).
- Teacher-led and scored (ensures familiarity and consistency).
- Standardized and benchmarked (provides reliable data).
- Valid, reliable, replicable, scalable, and sustainable (supports long-term improvement).
- Assesses key reading competencies:
- Beginning of School Year (BoSY): Phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, decoding.
- Middle of School Year (MoSY): Fluency, comprehension.
- End of School Year (EoSY): Fluency, comprehension.
- Languages covered: Akeanon, Central Bikol, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Inabaknon, Kinaray-a, Magindanawn, Minasbate, Rinconada, Sinugbuanong Binisaya, Tagalog, Waray, Filipino (L2), English (L3).
By using innovative tools like the CRLA and focusing on collaboration and early intervention, the ABC+ project is making a significant contribution to improving literacy and numeracy outcomes for Filipino children.
Would you like to learn more about the ABC+ project or the CRLA? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!