The reading gap across EthiopiaEthiopia's EGRA found that across the country's three most populous regional states, fewer than 1 in 8 Grade 2 students read at grade level in their language of instruction. In Oromia: ~12%. In Amhara: ~11%. In SNNP: ~10%. The pattern is consistent - the majority cannot decode basic words after two full years in school.
The gap is structural, not personalIn a class of 40, the teacher moves at the pace of the grade. A child at Level 1 sits in a room built for Level 5. The teacher is doing exactly what is asked. UNESCO data shows children whose reading lags are 6 more likely to leave school before completing primary.
The classroom reality
In a class of 40, only 5 children read at grade level.
The teacher moves at the pace of the grade - which means at the pace of those 5. The other 35 are not failing. They are invisible to the pace.
At grade level - 5 children (12%)
Below grade level - 35 children (88%)
The teacher cannot individualize for each of the 35. Reading Corps does.
What early intervention changes
45 minutes a day, level-matched - doubles the pace of progress.
TaRL evidence from comparable East African contexts. BiftuSpark will verify its own results and publish them.
Both children start here
Level 1 - Beginner
Without daily tutoring
+1
level over 2 years
The classroom moves at the grade's pace. The gap does not close on its own.
Reading Corps 45 min/day
+2
levels in 1 year
Level-matched small groups. Daily practice. A tutor who sees every child individually.
TaRL Africa evidence East African contexts BiftuSpark will publish its own checked results
What we are building toward
The bar we hold ourselves to before Reading Corps launches.
Pre-set threshold. If we hit it, we say so. If we don't, we say that too.
0%
40%BiftuSpark threshold
60%TaRL upper bound
100%
We use the lower bound - 40% - as our threshold. If we clear it, we expand. If we don't, we diagnose and say why.