In low-income countries many studentsare marginalized very early and remain illiterate. In grades1-3 they attend rarely, though they may officially drop outin grade 4. Many others graduate from primary school withouthaving learned letter values. The worrisome outcomes,despite much donor investment in low-income countries, haveprompted scrutiny of the methods, and textbooks used to makestudents literate. This document offers insights fromcognitive neuroscience and evidence suggesting that studentscan be taught basic literacy within the first semester ofgrade 1, if taught in consistently spelled languages.Teaching students at risk of dropout to read as early aspossible enhances equity. However, the reading methods usedin many countries are complex and hard for teachers toexecute. They pertain to high-income countries and tocertain western European languages. English but also French,Portuguese, and Dutch have complex spelling systems. Englishin particular requires three years of learning time. (Frenchrequires about two). Reading instruction for English isexpensive and complex. Lists of whole words must be learned,vocabulary and early training in predictions are needed inorder to make sense of words that cannot be sounded out.Learning must be started at kindergarten, parents must helpat home, and many weaker students require remedialinstruction. Since English is an official language in manycountries, the travails of learning to read in this languagehave been considered the normal fate of reading. Overall,reading methods must be resilient to the vicissitudes ofimplementation. Many activities work well in higher-incomecountries or small pilots, but at scale-up they sink.Governments and donors should train up to existing capacity,rather than try to raise capacity to the requirements ofcomplex methods.
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