Teaching at the Right Level: A learning approach from Pratham International

“Before, I felt sad that I could not read well. Now I like to read stories. I read them to my little sister so she can sleep.” — Student in a Remedial Club, Honduras

According to a report from the Inter-American Development Bank, 75% of 15-year-old students in Latin America lack basic math skills, and 55% cannot read and understand a simple text. The region has the potential risk of a 15% increase in school dropouts and a rise in learning poverty from 53% to 63%. 

We have adopted the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach as one of the solutions to address this education challenge. TaRL, pioneered by Pratham Education Foundation in India, helps learners acquire reading and math skills quickly by meeting them where they are. TaRL groups elementary-school students according to their learning level, rather than by their age or grade. 

In recent years, Glasswing has piloted Pratham’s TaRL approach in diverse contexts in collaboration with Pratham International. We are also partnering to develop educational programming for Grades 1 and 2.

To date, Glasswing has assessed over 9,000 students and provided remedial education to 5,500 students. The results from this intervention have shown that 77% of students who participate in the remedial clubs improve their math skills, and 80% improve their reading skills, narrowing the learning gaps within their grades. Furthermore, more than 400 volunteers and teachers have been trained to become facilitators of the methodology and successfully guide children toward their appropriate learning level. 

Comments from teachers and parents reveal a significant change in students’ motivation to learn. As one teacher from Guatemala said, “The girls began to be interested in the classes. They greatly improved their educational, mathematical, and reading levels. They were taking care of their homework and were more involved in class. This encouraged my work as a teacher because when I was teaching, I knew they were listening to me, and in the end, there were proven results of improvement.”

Glasswing visits Pratham in India

This spring, members of Glasswing’s education team traveled to Delhi and Haryana, India, to better understand these methodologies. During this learning visit, we observed how Pratham Education Foundation implements TaRL and other educational programs. Pratham’s innovative, high-quality, low-cost, and replicable interventions provided us with invaluable insights and tools that we can leverage in Central America.

We sincerely thank Pratham for their warm welcome and for sharing their knowledge and experience. This trip not only reaffirmed the power of community and collaboration but also filled us with new ideas and energy to continue improving education in our region. We look forward to applying some of these strategies in our communities in collaboration with partners like Pratham.