The Learning Systems Institute received a grant from UNICEF-Pacific to conduct baseline research and design an “Early Grades Literacy Program for Tuvalu.”

The international research project was managed by the Center for International Studies in Educational Research and Development at the Learning Systems Institute. Drs. Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi and Marion Fesmire spent two weeks in Fiji and Tuvalu interviewing teachers and visiting schools in the smallest nation in the world. They designed several assessment tools, including the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) which was adapted and translated to Tuvaluan with assistance from the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports (MEYS) in Tuvalu and with support from UNICEF-Pacific in Suva, Fiji.

The LSI team used the information gathered in Tuvalu to design the Three-Year Early Grades Literacy Program for Tuvalu, and produced a final report for UNICEF-Pacific.