Millions of children in low- and middle-income countries attend school without learning to read, with ineffective teaching methods driving a global learning crisis. New global evidence demonstrates that structured, low-cost, and evidence-based reading instruction can transform literacy outcomes and unlock long-term economic growth.
Editor's note: This episode of VoxDevTalks is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Why learning to read is the foundation of education and development
Learning to read is not simply one educational milestone among many – it is the gateway to all future learning and opportunity. Enrolling children in school is only the first step; if they do not learn to read once they arrive, education systems are failing in their core mission.
Benjamin Piper discusses a recent report on effective reading instruction in schools. Without reading, children struggle not only with literacy but also with numeracy and problem-solving, as even mathematics quickly becomes text based.
At a societal level, literacy underpins economic growth. Piper is clear that for countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia reading skills are indispensable.
“There’s no other education investment and no other economic investment [that] can reach its potential, and it’s practically the gateway to all their learning and opportunity”.
A global learning crisis hidden in plain sight
Despite huge progress in school enrolment over recent decades, learning outcomes remain deeply troubling. Drawing on recent data across 11 countries, Piper describes a stark reality: in many contexts it takes five years of schooling to achieve what could be achieved in two with effective reading instruction.
The scale of the problem is hard to overstate. Around 70% of children in low- and middle-income countries are not reaching basic literacy and numeracy benchmarks. Piper characterises this as more than a technical failure of education systems.
“It’s not only a crisis from a learning outcomes point of view, it’s a crisis of human capital”.
What makes this crisis particularly painful is the gap between children’s potential and their outcomes. Having lived and worked extensively in Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Asia, Piper stresses that “talent level is extremely high, but the outcomes for these kids, on average, are way too low”. The lost potential has consequences that echo throughout secondary education, the labour market, and economic growth.
The real problem: how reading is taught, not children’s ability
One of the most important messages of the episode is that this crisis is largely preventable. According to the report, the principal cause of poor reading outcomes is not a lack of intelligence, motivation or effort, but the widespread use of ineffective instructional methods.
As Piper puts it bluntly:
“We are applying incorrect or inefficient methods for literacy instruction”.
This is both heart-breaking and hopeful. Heart-breaking, because millions of children are being failed by systems that do not equip teachers with effective tools; hopeful, because the problem is solvable.
The report synthesises evidence from 150 studies across more than 170 languages, directly addressing concerns that reading research from the US or UK may not apply elsewhere. “We now can update and have updated what the science of reading is”, Piper explains, showing that evidence-based approaches can work across diverse scripts, languages, and contexts when properly adapted.
The six core components of effective reading instruction
At the heart of the report is a clear framework identifying six essential components of effective reading instruction. These components form the backbone of what the authors describe as the global science of reading.
The six areas are:
- Oral language
- Phonological awareness
- Systematic phonics instruction
- Reading fluency
- Reading comprehension instruction
- Writing
While oral language develops more naturally, the other five “need to be taught explicitly”. Piper highlights that many children learn to read in a language that is not spoken at home, making deliberate development of vocabulary and academic language essential.
Phonological awareness and phonics, in particular, represent a major shift away from traditional “whole word” approaches. Teachers need to help children understand that words are made up of sounds that can be blended and manipulated.
“For a large percentage of kids, you actually have to have the teaching to show that there are three different sounds that come together”.
Fluency depends critically on access to books. In classrooms where textbooks are scarce, children can respond orally without ever engaging with print. One-to-one access allows teachers to spot who is struggling and helps children develop a love of reading. Crucially, Piper pushes back against the idea that structured, phonics-based programmes are dull:
“Good instructional programmes that follow the science of reading are fun”.
Language, context, and what works across different scripts
A major contribution of the report is its nuanced approach to language. The evidence strongly supports teaching children to read first in their home language, where possible. The power of early success is profound:
“That kind of Eureka moment as like a first grader in the second week of class being able to read a word and know what it means has real power”.
However, the report also recognises political, social, and practical realities. Many countries operate in multilingual contexts where children transition from an L1 to an L2 or even L3 during primary school. The key, Piper argues, is planning these transitions carefully and building skills progressively.
What unites all contexts is that the same six instructional components apply everywhere, even if their implementation differs. Teaching phonics in Ge’ez script looks different from teaching phonics in a Latin alphabet, but the underlying principle remains. This balance between universal principles and local adaptation is one of the report’s defining strengths.
Supporting teachers through structured pedagogy at scale
Teachers are not the problem – lack of support is. Piper, himself a former teacher, stresses that even well-trained educators struggle without the right materials.
“I was a well-meaning, hard-working, well-trained teacher, and it was hard for me to do what I had been trained on because I didn’t have in my hands the evidence-based methods that followed the science of reading”.
The report strongly advocates structured pedagogy: coherent packages that combine lesson plans, materials, training, and coaching. These programmes break lessons into manageable routines, guiding teachers through short, focused activities across the six core areas.
Crucially, this approach works even in large classes and constrained systems. Piper points to Uttar Pradesh in India, where basic literacy rates have doubled using structured pedagogy at scale. Importantly, these programmes are affordable. Governments can implement them for around $5–6 per child per year, delivering learning gains equivalent to six to nine additional months of schooling annually.
The returns are striking. “It’s a no-brainer investment”, Piper concludes, citing evidence of 30-to-1 social returns and 10–12% higher wages for individuals who acquire basic literacy skills.