Philippines Whole School

Reading Program

Education Quality and Access

for Learning and Livelihood
Skills - Phase 2 (EQuALLS2)

Since 2006, the EQuALLS2* Project has been working

in partnership with the Philippine Department of
Education (DepEd) and the Department of Education
of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao

Background
EQuALLS2 was launched in July 2006 to increase
access to quality education and livelihood
skills in the Philippines. With specific emphasis

(DepEd ARMM) to adapt and strengthen the National

English Proficiency Program (NEPP) in elementary
schools in Mindanao. The projects focus on improving
teachers English use and instruction has evolved to

on poverty- and conflict-affected areas of

emphasize the importance of reading skills, in light of

Mindanao, EQuALLS2 targets schools, villages

the alarmingly low reading assessments of elementary

and municipalities to strengthen formal and

school students and their teachers.

alternative education and reintegrate out-ofschool youth into the economy.

Photos by Karl Grobl

Whole School
Reading Program
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 13) and intermediate
students (grades 46) were struggling
readers. The WSRP, therefore, was designed to
include the whole teaching staff (all subject
areas) and the whole student population
(grades 16) within a given school.
The WSRP was developed on the premise
that 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, leads to improved results
for teachers and students. The underlying
hypothesis is that when teachers become
aware of their own and their students reading
abilities, they are motivated to improve their
fluency and comprehension skills, as well as
how they teach reading and/or use English in
math and science.

Photos by Karl Grobl

Main Components of WSRP

Use of teacher and student reading skills assessments to inform
the design of interventions and progress of programs

Training of primary teachers in early grade reading using the Guide

to Early Reading Instruction, an 8-week instructional program on
phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and
writing

Distribution of materials keyed to practices outlined in the Guide

to Early Reading Instruction such as decodable books

Face-to-face training of all school teachers across the curriculum

(see box for content of courses)

Follow-up, self-managed learning activities in which teachers

work independently and in pairs to develop reading fluency and
comprehension

Videos to model key reading instructional practices

Leadership by the school head in planning and coordinating
school-wide interventions for students who are non-readers or
frustration level readers

Targeted remediation activities for students identified as reading

below grade level

Distribution of over 1 million supplementary books and a teachers

guide on how to use the texts for reading enhancement activities

Course 1: Learning to read (phonemic

awareness, phonics, word recognition)
Course 2: Reading to learn (vocabulary
development, fluency, comprehension)
Course 3: Reading-writing connections and
YouTube videos to model practices
In between courses:
Participation in self-managed learning
activities to strengthen teachers personal
fluency and comprehension
Weekly teacher read aloud with a
partner teacher, plus discussion
Monthly timed assessments of
teachers fluency
Photos by Karl Grobl

Results
% by which Grade 2 WSRP students outscored
non-WSRP students in EQuALLS2 areas

(Matched pair study: WSRP and

non-WSRP schools)
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.

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For More Information Contact

Nancy Devine, Project Director, ndevine@edc.org
Gustavo Payan, Program Associate, gpayan@edc.org
Visit: www.equalls2.org / www.equip123.net

Photos by Karl Grobl