4 out of 10 people in Brazil don’t read at the right time

summary
Four out of ten children in Brazil do not achieve reading fluency within the expected time frame, and this affects their learning and future. Avila’s case highlights the importance of effective education policies and family support for literacy.

Do you want to play Seg Le E L I S O? Isn’t it Paré Seigy Sil? But what if all the words you see were always the same? When I read it, it looks like this. Now, imagine facing this challenge when you are 10 years old. According to the Child Literacy Index 2024, 4 out of 10 children in Brazil read this way at this school stage.

• On November 14th, national literacy day, The date chosen to commemorate the establishment of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in 1930.

For a long time, this was also how Avila saw the world. The letters got mixed up and the sounds became incomprehensible. Her mother, Haluska, called her daughter every day to ask what she had learned in school. The answer was always the same. “Nothing, Mom. The teacher didn’t do anything today.”

The girl was a fourth-grader at a private school in Campina Grande, Paraiba state. They live in the countryside, and due to work commitments, Halska had to leave her daughter for a while and leave her with her grandparents. When he returned, he realized something was wrong.

“He didn’t know how to read, he didn’t know, he wasn’t really learning. I could see that the kid wasn’t learning. He didn’t know how to write. So he wasn’t really learning,” Halska recalled. earth, He didn’t hide the feeling of disappointment and despair in his eyes, not knowing what he could do to change that scenario. “I started to think she might have learning problems.”

However, the explanation was not a medical diagnosis. A psychoeducator friend of the family evaluated the girl and declared: “She doesn’t seem to have any problems. On the contrary, she has very good language and is intelligent.”

However, the conclusion was shocking. “So I became even more desperate. I said, well, school.” Halska talked with her family and expressed her concerns, but the most common thing she heard was, “Wait, kids have their own time.”

As Avila’s grades remained low and her reading comprehension did not improve, Halska made a decision that changed her fate. “I said to myself: I have to find a way to get her to study at Queimadas (PB). I already have a lot of colleagues here who said, ‘Look, the education at Queimadas is great.'”

“Reading and writing is the foundation. So I was worried, but I couldn’t find a solution, because I said, God, this is her future. We need to lay a good foundation so that she doesn’t suffer in the future.”

Literacy at the right time

According to Daniela Calderinha, Fundação Lemann Vice President for Education, literacy up to the second grade is essential not only for learning in school, but also for life.

“This stage of reading and writing is very important for the development of all children, because it is a necessary condition to ensure all learning in life. When we are at this stage, we learn to read, write, understand texts, and in the future we will read to learn,” explains Daniela.

She emphasizes that neuroscience and physical and emotional development show that this is the most appropriate time to learn to read and write. “Having this milestone is important because it guides educational practices. Children begin this process very early when learning to read and write, even when learning something as simple as holding a book and turning the pages.”

“It gets harder in Year 5 and even harder in Year 9 because we have data that shows dropouts are increasing and tardiness is accumulating. (…) In the long term, it has to do with schools becoming gratuitous places for children.”

Research by economist Ricardo Páez de Barros shows that delays in literacy extend beyond adulthood. At age 35, an illiterate person has only a 56% chance of being healthy. The probability of formal employment is approximately 45%.

Effects that also affect offspring. This is because children of illiterate fathers have a 38% chance of graduating from high school up to one year later. The percentage of people who can read and write is 69%.

The beginning of a turning point in Avila’s life

Haruska quit her job as a caregiver at the beginning of fifth grade. “I made the bold decision to quit my job, live here and enroll her, and it’s been a great school year filled with good news and a lot of progress.”

Avila attended Escola Municipal Beatriz Ernesto de Mello, one of the public schools in Queimadas. The first reading fluency assessment administered as part of the Partnership for Collaborative Literacy (PARC) program, an initiative supported by the Lehrman Foundation and implemented in 18 states, came as a shock. The girl’s reading level was zero.

“I looked at the screen and said, ‘Oh my god, Avila’s name is there,'” Halska said. “She was there, Level 0. There were very few students, most of them from other cities. I felt guilty, but I also said, ‘I have nothing to do.'”

For Calderinha, such assessments are essential to guiding classroom efforts. “This is a very interesting assessment because it gives the teacher a lot of input. We call it a formative assessment. It immediately shows the level of each student and allows the teacher to plan next steps. If we notice that a student is still reading inaccurately, we know that we need to work on fluency to improve comprehension,” he explains.

She says these tools help transform data into action. “Teachers can plan their next lesson based on diagnoses obtained quickly and frequently.”

From level 0 to fluency

Reality changed rapidly. With constant support from the school, teachers, and staff, Avila immersed herself in an avid study habit. “I arrived at 7am. I stayed in the room until 11am. Then I had lunch and went to reinforcements until 5pm. When I got home, I took a shower, did some activities and went to bed,” he explains.

Meanwhile, the mother carefully observed the process. “When I first started, I helped out every day. However, at a certain point I stopped needing to help, so I didn’t have the knowledge to help.”

According to Haluska, the school environment was decisive. “There was not only educational support there, but also a lot of emotional support. The school is built on love. They are very patient. Every week there was a reading in the courtyard, where the staff read books and encouraged the children. The process was very peaceful.”

Avila remembers a time when she tried to read but couldn’t put the words together.

“I was lost, nervous and crying. I had to read even though I couldn’t read. At first it was very difficult and I was embarrassed and had to stop many times. Then I got used to it.”

The turning point was marked by the “ship shirt,” a symbolic award given to students who achieved reading fluency. “I think it was the second training session, when parents were called to show the student’s progress and receive the long-awaited boat ride, which was a dream for many. That’s when my penny dropped and I spent two weeks crying,” Halska said. “I said, ‘Look, Avila really reads books. Of course she does.’

Avila is currently in sixth grade, but already has a taste for literature. “I love reading poems and fables. I prefer fables because they teach us lessons, and I really like that kind of writing.”

For a mother, seeing her daughter read is more than just a grade at school. “It’s not easy being unemployed. It was scary. But it was her future that was at stake, and it was all worth it.”

Literacy challenges in Brazil

For Daniela Calderinha, stories like Ávila’s reveal structural problems in Brazilian education. “In Brazil, there are chronic problems related to the initial training of teachers. There is a huge gap between the training they receive at universities and the actual needs of the classroom. Teachers are faced with challenges for which they are not fully prepared and are left very alone,” said Lehman Foundation’s Vice President for Education, who also pointed to problems with infrastructure and materials.

She therefore advocates for educational networks and the education sector to strengthen ongoing training and provide practical tools and ongoing support. “Unless literacy is taken centrally as a structuring issue for national development, we will continue to treat it as another stage.”

According to the 2024 Child Literacy Index, only 59.2% of Brazilian second-graders can read and understand simple texts, slightly below the national goal of 60%.

Daniela explains that despite progress, significant inequalities still exist. “On average we are getting closer to our goal, but if you look at them individually, some states are doing very well, like Ceará, Goiás and Minas Gerais, while others are still facing great challenges. There are also differences within states and between children of different races. White children are not guaranteed the same levels as black, brown and indigenous children.”