All Children Reading: An International Literacy Day Event

Learning to read is fundamental for success in school and life. Young children must acquire basic literacy skills that will serve them as they progress in their studies and in the working world. Yet in many developing countries, too few students are learning to read during the critical first years of school. Recent estimates indicate that the average child in a low-income country is learning at about the same level as a child in the fifth percentile of a high-income country.

On September 8, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, the Education for All-Fast Track Initiative, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) marked International Literacy Day by hosting a series of discussions on how a range of education stakeholders are addressing the challenge of improving literacy, particularly at lower primary levels, to help fulfill the promise of quality education for all.

After each panel, participants took audience questions.