Long-Lasting Effects of Promoting Literacy – Do When and How to Learn Matter?

This paper analyzes the long-lasting impacts of a pilot project aimed to teach children how to read and write at age six (1st grade of elementary school). Specifically, we investigate whether a cohort of students that... [ view full abstract ]

This paper analyzes the long-lasting impacts of a pilot project aimed to teach children how to read and write at age six (1^st grade of elementary school). Specifically, we investigate whether a cohort of students that participated in the program performed better on the Language and Math Exam for fifth graders than untreated students of the same cohort. Using a Difference-in-Differences methodology, we found both that it is not enough to get children literate at age six to secure long-lasting effects and that the instruction process used to teach is an important factor in long-term literacy. Three teaching methods were implemented in the pilot. We were able to find positive results only for children that learned how to read and write using the Phonics method. The results are robust for a large set of time-varying control variables, including socioeconomic status of children, the main variable associated with school performance. Our results also suggest that the combined effect of age and teaching method has long-term impacts on math reasoning.