The Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA) is an innovative resource by the Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines aimed at bridging literacy gaps among students from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
Targeted at Grade 1 to Grade 3 students, the tool evaluates reading abilities and sorts learners into four categories: Grade Ready, Light Refresher, Moderate Refresher, and Full Refresher.
This tool helps teachers as well as other stakeholders such as the DSWD in pinpointing students’ strengths and areas for improvement, allowing for tailored instruction to support each learner through various support programs such as the Tara, Basa! Program.
The CRLA promotes educational equity by recognizing linguistic diversity and making sure every student receives the appropriate support they need.
Developed in response to the 2020 pandemic’s educational disruptions, this approach was piloted in November 2020 and has since been expanded based on positive feedback.
Teachers can use this assessment to quickly classify reading levels, identify struggling readers, and inform instructional strategies, making it an important tool for enhancing literacy in multiple languages.
What is the CRLA?
The CRLA is an innovative resource by DepEd aimed at closing the literacy gap among students from various linguistic backgrounds.
It caters to Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3 students.
The assessment gauges students’ reading abilities and sorts them into four categories: Grade Ready, Light Refresher, Moderate Refresher, and Full Refresher.
By pinpointing students’ strengths and areas for improvement, teachers can offer tailored instruction to support each learner.
The Importance of the CRLA
The CRLA is an essential tool for promoting educational equity.
It recognizes the linguistic diversity of the Philippines and helps teachers provide instruction that meets each student’s unique needs.
By seeing to it that every student receives appropriate support, the tool represents a significant step towards equal education opportunities for all.
The Development and Expansion of the CRLA
Initially, the tool was designed as a quick, 5-minute reading assessment to help teachers identify the reading levels of their Grade 1 to Grade 3 students.
The primary goal was to pinpoint children needing extra reading support.
This tool was developed in response to the extended break due to the pandemic in 2020, which left teachers needing a quick, easy-to-use method to assess returning students’ readiness.
Implementation and Scaling
The initial assessments focused on letter sounds, isolated words, and sentences in the mother tongue (MT), Filipino, and English.
Filipino learners transition from their mother tongue to Filipino and English by Grade 4.
However, the earliest standardized assessments in the Philippines were for Filipino starting in Grade 3 and English starting in Grade 4.
Before the use of this approach, there were no standardized tools to assess in the mother tongue.
The CRLA was also designed to be administered remotely, making it essential for the new normal of online learning.
The CRLA was piloted in November 2020 in select schools.
Key Uses of the CRLA
The assessment tool serves multiple key purposes:
- Quickly classify students in Grades 1-3 by their reading levels.
- Identify struggling readers and the specific support they need.
- Inform instructional strategies and develop suitable reading programs.
- Monitor student progress and learning recovery after disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Support the implementation of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE).
Enhancing Literacy in Multiple Languages
The CRLA aids literacy development in Filipino and English by:
- Assessing reading skills in multiple languages.
- Identifying learning gaps.
- Informing teaching strategies.
- Monitoring progress.
- Supporting the transition to Filipino and English.
Use Guidelines
To effectively use the CRLA tool:
- Administer the assessment to students in Grades 1-3 to quickly assess their reading skills in their mother tongue, Filipino, and English.
- Classify learners by their reading proficiency levels and identify those needing extra support.
- Analyze the results to develop a reading profile for each student and plan remedial instruction.
- Use the data to create targeted reading programs and support literacy in multiple languages.
- Align the tool with the curriculum and administer it at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to track progress.
The Assessment Process
Administering the assessment involves several steps to achieve accurate and consistent results.
- Preparation: Teachers must have all necessary materials ready, including learner sheets for different grade levels and languages. It’s essential to inform students, teachers, and parents about the assessment and its significance.
- Assessment Environment: Choose a distraction-free environment for the assessment. Provide students with essential tools like pencils and erasers for a smooth process.
- Administering Tasks: Students read words, sentences, or rhyming pairs out loud at their own pace. Teachers do not assist students during the assessment.
- Scoring and Categorization: Teachers score the students’ responses according to the provided guidelines. Based on their scores, students are placed into different categories that reflect the level of support they need.
- Customized Instruction: The assessment results guide teachers in creating customized teaching strategies to address each student’s specific needs. This approach fosters effective learning outcomes.
- Data Utilization: The results offer valuable insights that help teachers refine classroom strategies, design curricula, and make informed policy decisions.
Beginning of School Year (BoSY) CRLA Template
Here is the actual CRLA tool which teachers use at the start of the school year to assess their students’ reading and learning aptitude.
Positive Feedback and Expansion
The feedback from schools and teachers was positive.
Many schools used the results from this assessment to create remedial and focused reading programs, identifying students needing additional support.
Following the success of the initial rollout, DepEd asked ABC+ to help develop mid-year and end-of-year assessments aligned with curricular competencies.
These assessments included listening comprehension, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension tasks.
ABC+ is currently working to expand the number of mother tongue languages supported by the CRLA and integrating it into the operational manual for mother tongue-based multilingual education.
Empowering Students Through the CRLA
DepEd’s Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment reflects the commitment to quality education despite linguistic diversity.
Through precise administration, accurate evaluation, and personalized teaching, this approach paves the way for developing proficient readers and confident learners.
As teachers and students engage with this tool, the CRLA serves as a significant resource, promising a future where every student can succeed academically and beyond.
Video: MODIFIED CRLA ENCODING TEMPLATE SIMULATION FOR GRADE 1
In this video, a DepEd representative simulates the use of the modified CRLA encoding template for Grade 1. This training video offers a practical tool for educators to enhance student learning outcomes. This tailored approach aims to optimize data entry efficiency and accuracy for student progress tracking.
Conclusion
The CRLA is an important tool for early-grade teachers to quickly diagnose reading levels, identify learning gaps, and provide tailored instruction to improve literacy outcomes.
By offering a standardized method to assess reading skills in various languages, this assessment technique enables teachers to deliver focused instruction and support to enhance literacy in Filipino and English.