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Session Submission Summary

Measuring reading benchmarks across linguistic divides: The Funda Uphumelele National Reading Survey of South Africa

Wed, April 1, 2:45 to 4:00pm, Hilton, Floor: Lobby Level - Tower 3, Golden Gate 1&2

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

The Funda Uphumelele National Reading Survey (FUNS) was recently undertaken and released by the South African Department of Basic Education. This survey represents the culmination of several years of work: first, to develop early grade reading benchmarks in all South African languages; second, to design appropriate assessments in each language; and third, to measure the percentage of children in the early grades reaching these critical benchmarks through a survey that is representative nationally, provincially, and across every language group.
In societies marked by division—whether by language, ethnicity, or socio-economic status—education can either reinforce exclusion or serve as a foundation for inclusion and peace. South Africa’s multilingual context illustrates this challenge vividly, as children’s home languages have historically been under-invested in, often treated using the same assessment and pedagogical approaches to English, rather than understood and treated in their distinctiveness.
This session provides an overview of the design and results of the inaugural FUNS survey. The first paper outlines South Africa’s approach to establishing benchmarks for reading at the end of Grades 1, 2, and 3 in each of the country’s official languages for home language literacy, as well as benchmarks for progress in English as a First Additional Language. The second paper describes the development of grade-appropriate reading assessments in preparation for the national survey. The third paper presents results showing the percentages of children in South Africa—by grade, province, and language—reaching critical early reading benchmarks, such as letter-sound recognition and oral reading fluency, which are foundational for reading comprehension by the end of Grade 3.
This initiative has been a large-scale collaboration led by the South African government, specifically the section responsible for research, monitoring and evaluation. This section, sometimes referred to as an “Ed Lab” within the government has coordinated inputs from academics, practitioners, and linguists across South African and international institutions. A coalition of partners and donors has also played an instrumental role in supporting the work over the past six years. The project aims to shift the focus of government, teachers, parents, and communities towards ensuring that children acquire essential reading and literacy skills on time in the early grades, thereby supporting later educational outcomes.
The urgency of this work is underscored by international assessments such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which revealed that 81% of South African Grade 4 learners cannot read with minimum comprehension. A further challenge, common across many African countries, is the transition from learning in a home language to learning in English, usually from Grade 4. The survey also sheds light on the relationship between home-language (L1) and additional-language (L2) learning trajectories.
This South African project offers a model for measuring early reading skills and strengthening advocacy around literacy. Its approach may be adapted and replicated elsewhere on the African continent, and governments and donor organisations are encouraged to consider how similar initiatives could support their own efforts to improve foundational learning outcomes.

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