Abstract
From September 2019 to November 2019, Khulisa Management Services (Pty) Ltd conducted an Implementation Evaluation of the USAID-funded Reading Support Project (RSP). The primary aim of the Implementation Evaluation is to account for the adaption of the RSP and inclusion of EGRS, whether the adapted design is likely to lead to impact, whether the dosage and coverage of services is sufficient to support pathways to impact, and whether there is fidelity to the intended design in actual implementation.
The key evaluation questions answered in this report include:
1.To what extent did the FPD Consortium implement the intended intervention design with fidelity? 2.Is there evidence of RSP uptake by teachers in class?3.Is there evidence of changed practices based on the SMT support?4.Was there any major divergencefrom the assumptions in the Theory of Change?5.How could the management and implementation structures be improved?6.How could the M&E systems be improved?7.What are the unique challenges of delivery at scale?
Khulisa employed a mixed methods design. Findings include:
?The dosage, adherence, quality, participant responsiveness,and program differentiation (i.e., program fidelity) variesfrom being on target to under-performance.?There isnomajor divergencefrom the Theory of Change assumptions. However, some assumptions are not being met due to issues with implementation. For example, fewer teachers attended training than expected, some teachers are not receiving all LTSM, and the dosage of coaching support is not sufficiently high to support behavior change. ?Teachers in general are receptive and responsive to the materials. However, they face challenges in implementation. Effective coaches are contributing to improved delivery.