Improving Reading at Scale: Evidence for Structured Literacy Instruction in Argentina's Primary Schools
Phase: NA
Conditions: Children's Early Reading Development
Sponsor: Florencia Salvarezza

“Improving Reading at Scale: Evidence for 
Structured Literacy Instruction in 
Argentina’s Primary Schools” 
 
NCT Number: NOT YET ASSIGNED 
Date: 01/28/2026 
 
 
Supplementary Materials 
 

 
Group level effects on component skills 
Similar to the group-level analysis of the group and time effects on reading skills, we 
analyzed the group and time effects on component skills that were collected at more 
than one time point. In this analysis, we used linear mixed-effect models, with fixed 
effects for group (effect-coded, control coded as (-1)), time (inserted as an effect-coded 
categorical variable, T1 coded as (-1)), and their interaction. Models also had 
by-participant random intercepts, which was the maximal random-effect structure 
justified by the design. F-values and significance levels for the effects of group, time, 
and their interaction are presented in Table S1. The three measures that were assessed 
in more than one time point were Phoneme Segmentation, Set for variability, and 
Nonword Repetition. For all the component skills with more than one assessment, there 
was a significant main effect of time (see Table S1), meaning that, on average, 
participants improved in their component skills with time. Two models also revealed 
greater improvement in the intervention through time compared to the control group, as 
evidenced by significant group-by-time interactions. Thus, students in the intervention 
group showed significantly greater gains in phoneme segmentation, measured at T1-T4 
(F(3, 1140.94)=2.97, p=.031, η²p<.01; Fig. S1A), and in Set for Variability, measured at 
T1 and T4 (F(1, 385.59)= 5.71, p=.017, η²p=.01; Fig. S1B). 
 

 
Table S1. 
Group-level Analyses: F-values of terms from linear mixed-effect models predicting 
component skills from Group (intervention vs. control), and Time. 
Dependent Variable 
Time-points 
measured 
Group 
Time 
Group X Time 
Phoneme 
Segmentation 
(Phoneme 
Segmentation Fluency) 
T1, T2, T3, 
T4 
F(1, 430.85)​
=0.04 
F(3, 1140.94)= 
217.71*** 
F(3, 1140.94)​
=2.97* 
Set for Variability (sfv) 
T1, T4 
F(1, 419.09)​
=0.97 
F(1, 385.59)= 
264.19*** 
F(1, 385.59)= 
5.71* 
Nonword Repetition 
(NON_Word_Rep) 
T1, T4 
F(1, 405.35)​
=0.17 
F(1, 353.70)​
=195.31*** 
F(2, 353.70)​
=1.8 
Notes: †<.1; * <.05; **<.01; ***<.001 
Fig. S1 
Estimated Interaction Effect of Group and Time on Phoneme Segmentation (Left Panel, 
A); and Estimated Interaction Effect of Group and Time on Set For Variability (Right 
Panel, B). 

 
Notes: †<.1; * <.05; **<.01; ***<.001 
 
 

 
Observation Rubric for Control Group Classrooms 
 
School Name  
Section 
 
 
How many students are in the grade? 
 
 
 
How many students are present? 
 
 
 
Class topic 
 
 
 
Vocabulary 
Yes 
No 
Not observed 
The teacher explicitly teaches new vocabulary 
 
 
 
The teacher asks if they know the vocabulary 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reading 
 
 
 
Letters are taught 
 
 
 
By their name 
 
 
 
By their sound 
 
 
 
The teacher does phonological awareness activities 
 
 
 
rhymes 
 
 
 
initial/final sound 
 
 
 
The teacher read texts aloud 
 
 
 
Students read aloud all together 
 
 
 
Students read aloud one by one 
 
 
 
After reading, the teacher asks literal questions 
 
 
 
After reading, the teacher asks inferential questions 
 
 
 
After reading, the teacher asks closed questions (YES/NO) 
 
 
 
After reading, the teacher asks open questions 
 
 
 
Students are expected/ asked to guess what it says in texts 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Writing 
 
 
 
Students write spontaneously in their copybooks 
 
 
 
Students copy tests/sentences from the board (not date and tittle) 
 
 
 
The teacher corrects students´spelling as part of the activity 
 
 
 
The teacher checks what students do in their workbooks at the 
moment  
 
 
 
The teacher corrects her students' work 
 
 
 

Dictations are given 
 
 
 
Word dictations 
 
 
 
Sentence dictations 
 
 
 
The teacher gives feedback on her student's errors 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Classroom materials 
 
 
 
Which of these materials are in the classroom 
 
 
 
One workbook for each student 
 
 
 
A reading book 
 
 
 
An alphabet posted on the classroom wall 
 
 
 
Words written on the wall 
 
 
 
Name chart 
 
 
 
Birthday chart 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________ 
 
 

 
 
Teacher´s Survey: Originally in Spanish 
Teacher´s Survey Translation 
Final Survey for CABA Teachers December 2022/November 2023 
 
Email 
 _________________________________________________________ 
First Name 
_________________________________________________________ 
Last Name  
_________________________________________________________ 
School Name  
_________________________________________________________ 
 
Education completed 
☐ High School 
☐ Tertiary 
☐ University 
☐ Other 
Years of experience in the classroom 
☐ Less than two years 
☐ Two to Five years 
☐ Five to ten years 
☐  Ten to twenty years 
☐ More than twenty years 

 
Training and resources for the teacher 
Choose all options that you consider describe the training: 
☐ Interesting 
☐ Provided me with new information 
☐ Entertaining 
☐ Boring 
☐ Did not provide me with new knowledge 
☐ Neutral 
 
The training sessions were: 
☐ Excellent 
☐ Very good 
☐ Good 
☐ Regular 
☐ I did not participate in all of them 
 
Teacher's Manual 
☐ Excellent 
☐ Very good 
☐ Good 
☐ Regular 
☐ I didn't use it 
 
Participating in this research has provided me with knowledge for my literacy class. 
☐ Totally agree 
☐ Agree 

☐ Neither agree nor disagree 
☐ Disagree 
☐ Totally disagree 
 
Would you recommend this program to your colleagues? 
☐ Yes 
☐ No 
☐ Maybe 
 
Why?_____________________________________________________________ 
 
How prepared are you to teach your students to read? 
☐ Very prepared 
☐ Well prepared 
☐ Moderately prepared 
☐ Not prepared 
 
How prepared are you to teach reading to children with difficulties? 
☐ Very prepared 
☐ Well prepared 
☐ Moderately prepared 
☐ Not prepared 
 
How prepared do you think you are to work with reading comprehension strategies 
(e.g., inferences, predictions, retelling, and summarizing) during reading? 
☐ Very prepared 
☐ Well prepared 

☐ Moderately prepared 
☐ Not prepared 
 
What tools did you incorporate into your practices? 
________________________________________________________________________ 
 
How prepared are you to teach other teachers to work with Aprendo Leyendo (I 
Learn to Read)? 
☐ Very prepared 
☐ Well prepared 
☐ Moderately prepared 
☐ Not prepared 
 
What is reading fluency and why is it important? 
☐ a. Having the ability to quickly decode sounds. 
☐ b. Having the ability to read with accuracy and automaticity with ease, to free up 
cognitive effort and focus it on text comprehension. 
 
What is reading? 
☐ a. Decoding 
☐ b. Saying the name of the letters 
☐ c. Understanding written language to access meaning 
 
What tools are fundamental for reading? 
☐ a. Decoding 
☐ b. Vocabulary 
☐ c. General knowledge 
☐ d. Decoding + vocabulary + comprehension strategies + general knowledge 

 
Why do we teach reading lowercase letters? 
☐ a. It is the letter found in all texts 
☐ b. To save students the transition from reading uppercase to lowercase 
☐ c. To teach the semantic meaning of uppercase letters 
☐ d. All of the above answers. 
 
Why is it important for children to read aloud? 
☐ a. To know how each child is reading and to be able to intervene in case of errors 
☐ b. To identify those who cannot read 
☐ c. To give teachers more work 
 
Why do we read lists of words, phrases, and sentences? 
☐ a. For practice of precision, automaticity, and reading fluency 
☐ b. To learn vocabulary 
☐ c. For children to practice reading with good rhythm 
☐ d. All of the above answers 
 
Why is reading stories important? 
☐ a. To work on reading comprehension 
☐ b. To read taught skills in context 
☐ c. To practice reading progressively longer stories and be able to sustain attention 
☐ d. All of the above answers. 
 
How many sounds do we find in the word "paquete"? (paquete means "package") 
☐ 1 
☐ 2 

☐ 3 
☐ 4 
☐ 5 
☐ 6 
 
Program implementation 
In comparison with other methodologies, programs, or ways of teaching reading: 
How did the implementation of Aprendo Leyendo (I Learn to Read) turn out for you? 
☐ Very challenging 
☐ Challenging 
☐ Easy 
☐ Very easy 
☐ Other: 
 
What challenges did the implementation of the Aprendo Leyendo program present 
to you?  
☐ Working with the whole class at the same time 
☐ Catching up on the work of absent children 
☐ Integrating Aprendo Leyendo with the contents of Language Practice and other 
curricular contents 
☐ Teaching it every day for 40 or 50 minutes 
☐ None 
 
Did the Aprendo Leyendo methodology help you improve other learning areas? 
☐ Yes 
☐ No 
 
What other areas have improved? Choose all that apply. 

☐ a. The teaching of other areas of knowledge 
☐ b. Classroom climate, coexistence, and work habits 
☐ c. Organization and planning of classes 
☐ d. Articulation and collaborative work among teachers 
☐ e. None 
☐ Other: 
 
What did you like most about Aprendo Leyendo in classroom work? 
☐ a. The reading and writing teaching methodology 
☐ b. The workbooks and stories for students (type of exercises) 
☐ c. The training for teachers and materials 
☐ d. All points a-c 
☐ Other: 
 
What was the last Step you completed up to today? 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
Did you use the teacher's manual to organize your classes? 
☐ All classes - 
☐ Once a week - 
☐ Few times - 
 
How many times a week do you work with the program? 
☐ 1 to 2 times a week 
☐ 2 to 3 times a week - 
☐ 3 to 4 times a week - 
☐ every day 

 
In comparison with other methodologies or programs: how motivated for reading do 
you notice your students are? 
☐ More motivated 
☐ Equally motivated 
☐ Less motivated 
 
Did you notice an improvement in your students' handwriting? 
☐ A lot 
☐ A little 
☐ None 
 
Do you find benefits in the practice of reading aloud and immediate feedback? 
☐ Many 
☐ Few 
☐ None 
☐ Other:_____________________________________________________________ 
 
It seems to me that my students are learning to read: 
☐ Better than before - 
☐ The same as always - 
☐ Worse than before 
☐ Other:_______________________________________________________________ 
 
It seems to me that my students' ability to comprehend texts: 
☐ Has improved 
☐ Is the same as always - 

☐ Has decreased 
☐ Other:_____________________________________________________________ 
 
Describe if the Aprendo Leyendo methodology has helped improve other areas of 
your work in the classroom. Which ones are they? 
_________________________________________________________________ 
 
What did you like most about the Aprendo Leyendo program?  
☐ The reading and writing teaching methodology 
☐ The workbooks and stories for students (type of exercises, sequencing) 
☐ The training and support resources for teachers (manual, platform, bulletin board, 
flashcards) 
☐ The reading level with which all my children finished 2nd grade 
☐ All 
☐ Other:_______________________________________________________________ 
 
Would you like to teach in first and second grade again with Aprendo Leyendo? 
___________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
What would you like us to improve? 
___________________________________________________________________