reading abilities. To prove this theory, a test-retest study would be needed under the aforementioned conditions.

From a psychosocial point of view, there is also the issue of stereotype threat as a factor influencing the performance of minority students. Our classroom observations revealed that teachers often send discouraging messages –in some cases this would be an understatement– to their students and this tends to happen more so when the teacher and students do not share the same cultural background. Reports of the use of psychological and physical threats and punishment by children and by our evaluators were more frequent in indigenous communities than in urban areas (Banco Mundial, 2008). Teachers in these schools also revealed in their interviews and in comments during class, low expectations to what their students could achieve academically. Thus, it is not far fetched to think that Ashaninka students will also have low expectations of changing the way their teachers or any foreign evaluator perceives them, or would feel very anxious when facing an evaluation in the fear of being punished. More research is needed to explore how stereotype threat influences performance of Peruvian indigenous children on standardized and non-standardized tests in Spanish.

Finally, the strength of the fluency-comprehension relationship can vary for groups of students that share certain characteristics, compared to the general population. For instance, international research has demonstrated that this relationship is stronger among students with reading disabilities (Hosp, 2001). Similarly, in our study, we found that the relationship is stronger for Ashaninka students: an increase in reading fluency translates into a larger increase in comprehension than it does for non-Ashaninka students, even when holding other factors constant. This may indicate that for the most disadvantaged children –the Ashaninkas being one example–, working on fluency early on is even more important than with advantaged students, as it appears to have greater impact on their ability to understand what they read. Also, this suggests that oral measures of reading abilities, such as fluency, could be appropriate tools used by teachers and parents for monitoring the progress of at-risk students in the early stages of learning to read, providing valuable information for lesson planning and for identifying individual students who are falling behind their peer group to make sure they catch up.

# **5.4. The multiple uses of reading tests: policy recommendations**

This research was undertaken in the context of a broader body of work aimed at strengthening accountability through the use of results-based standards in education, health and nutrition. In education, the most important goal is for students to learn, and therefore, measuring student achievement is key to setting a meaningful standard and produce the information that will tell us how far are we from getting there. This paper was written to explore two specific measures of reading abilities, which are the foundation for any further learning.

In terms of reporting results, the Rasch model allows to present results both with references to norms (NRM) and to learning criteria (CRM). If done properly, it would give teachers, parents and administrators a more accurate idea of what precise skills were mastered by the students and how this performance compares to others. Raw scores or percentages of right answers do not provide that information.

Based on our data in the ECE test we propose a model for reporting results that can contribute to strengthening accountability, and then discuss how the reported results could be used specifically to define standards, mobilize the education community to reach these standards and keep them focused, track and communicate the progress along the way, identify those most in need of extra support, and strengthen accountability.

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