The challenge of early literacy in the region
Early literacy remains one of the most persistent and unresolved problems in Latin American education systems. According to UNESCO data, four out of ten children worldwide do not reach the minimum level of reading proficiency. In Latin America, according to UNICEF and the World Bank, the figure is four out of five. This statistic does not merely describe an academic deficit, but rather a turning point that shapes the rest of a child’s schooling. When a student does not understand what they read in the early grades, everything that comes after becomes more difficult and, as a result, more unequal.
The root of the problem is structural. For decades, reading instruction has relied on a combination of intuition, methodological traditions, and unsystematic practices. Initial teacher training provides general frameworks, but almost never provides precise tools for teaching reading in real-world contexts.
Public policies, for their part, change their focus without generating sufficient continuity to consolidate effective methods. The result is a mosaic of unequal practices that depends more on the teacher than on the system. Social inequality amplifies the gap. Children who grow up with limited access to written language arrive at school with fewer opportunities and, paradoxically, receive less structured teaching that is more prone to improvisation.
The system, which should compensate for these differences, often reproduces them.
Addressing this problem requires something that has been largely absent in the region: a clear method, a solid scientific basis, and a structure to support teaching practice. This is where initiatives such as the ATAL (Let’s All Learn to Read) Program introduce a significant change.
What the science of reading teaches us
For many years, early literacy was treated as a pedagogical issue open to interpretation, different approaches, and methodological preferences. Today, this is beginning to change. For several decades now, there has been a solid body of research that describes quite precisely how children learn to read. This body of evidence has been extensively documented by the Inter-American Development Bank, one of the main promoters of the ATAL Program.
This evidence has been summarized in the article Teaching to Read: What Does the Science Say About Learning to Read?, published on the IDB’s education blog, Enfoque Educación. What is relevant is not only the abundance of studies (which is also important), but the consistency of their conclusions: learning to read requires explicit, progressive, and well-sequenced teaching, supported by neurocognitive and linguistic knowledge.
According to the IDB, there are four central ideas that summarize this evidence.
The first is that reading is not a natural act. Unlike oral language, which is acquired spontaneously, reading requires reorganizing neural circuits and activating a specific area of the brain that integrates visual, auditory, and semantic information in milliseconds. This scientific finding dispels the idea that simply exposing children to texts is enough for them to learn to read.
The second idea is that learning to read is cumulative and progressive. Skills such as oral language, phonological awareness, and letter recognition are the foundations on which formal literacy is built. The evidence cited by the IDB shows that inequalities in these early skills anticipate later inequalities in reading comprehension.
The third principle refers to Spanish as an alphabetic and transparent language. Although the correspondence between sounds and letters is fairly regular, this does not mean that children will discover it on their own. It requires systematic instruction in phonics and the rules of the system, combined with vocabulary development and syntactic comprehension.
The fourth point emphasizes that reading is built on varied experiences with written language, and that progress depends more on learning opportunities than on age.
Based on this evidence, the ATAL Program adopts two widely validated models: the Simple View of Reading, which explains that comprehension arises from decoding and understanding language, and the Scarborough String, which shows how multiple skills intertwine to form a competent reader.
From all this, it can be concluded that the science of reading only has an impact if it becomes daily practice in the classroom. And this is precisely the premise from which the ATAL Program arises.
Experience gained with ATAL in different countries shows that it is possible to improve reading instruction when three elements are combined: a clear method, solid evidence, and sustainable support.
Evidence turned into pedagogy
As we have already explained, the science of reading describes how we learn to read, but how do we turn that knowledge into concrete teaching practice? The ATAL (Let’s All Learn to Read) Program was designed precisely to bridge the gap between what research has shown and what actually happens in the classroom. Its proposal does not introduce concepts that are foreign to the curriculum: what it does is organize the teaching of reading based on the best available evidence and offer teachers precise guidance on what to teach, in what sequence, and for what purpose.
The starting point is the recognition that early literacy requires explicit and systematic instruction. ATAL structures this instruction around components that scientific literature considers essential: phonological awareness, grapheme-phoneme correspondences, decoding, fluent reading, and comprehension. The sequencing is carefully designed: first, the precursor skills are established, then the rules of the alphabetic system are introduced, and once decoding is consolidated, fluency and comprehension are deepened. The progression is not arbitrary; it responds to how the brain integrates phonological, orthographic, and semantic information.
Another distinctive feature of ATAL is its methodological consistency. The materials—books, workbooks, teaching guides—are aligned with each other and with scientific models, so that teachers do not receive conflicting messages or have to reconstruct an approach on their own. This consistency is key in educational systems where literacy often depends more on individual interpretation than on a common structure.
In addition, ATAL incorporates very specific guidelines for daily practice. Each session is designed according to a clear pattern: modeling by the teacher, guided practice, and independent practice. This scaffolding approach helps students progress with greater confidence and allows teachers to identify where it is necessary to reinforce or slow down the process. The clarity of these routines reduces the improvisation that is common in reading instruction and increases the stability of learning, which is especially valuable in contexts with high diversity or teacher turnover.
The program also emphasizes the importance of connecting decoding with comprehension from early stages. It is not just about children learning to “sound out words,” but about them being able to access meaningful texts and move toward increasingly automated and comprehensive reading. This integration of accuracy, fluency, and meaning is one of the most significant contributions of the approach.
The strength of this proposal has not gone unnoticed. In 2021, ATAL received the Qatar Foundation’s WISE Award, an international recognition of innovative educational initiatives with proven impact, for its ability to consistently translate scientific evidence into sustainable pedagogical practices.
Teacher support and feedback
A solid methodology is not enough if teachers work in isolation or without feedback. ATAL understands this and therefore incorporates two essential elements: professional support and systematic use of data.
Support consists of regular visits from tutors trained in the program’s methodology. Their role is not to supervise, but to help teachers implement activities accurately and understand the pedagogical logic behind each one. This support allows questions to be answered in real time, strategies to be adjusted, and professional confidence to be strengthened.
The second pillar is the pedagogical use of data. ATAL integrates brief and frequent assessments that help identify progress and difficulties in decoding, fluency, and comprehension. When used properly, these assessments make it possible to reorganize time, form support groups, and adjust the pace of teaching without waiting for delayed results.
The consistency of the model has also been verified externally. The program has undergone three experimental evaluations developed by the IDB in collaboration with Harvard University, which show significant improvements in key reading skills. These evaluations confirm that a structured, evidence-based approach can transform the learning experience in the early grades.
An inspiring experience to strengthen literacy
The experience gained with ATAL in different countries shows that it is possible to improve reading instruction when three elements that rarely coincide are combined: a clear method, solid evidence, and sustainable support. It is not an instant solution, but a process that advances through consistent and verifiable improvements. In early literacy, that consistency is crucial.
The results observed indicate progress in decoding, fluency, and early comprehension. But the most significant effect is not only in learning, but in the pedagogical culture it promotes: greater clarity, less variability between classrooms, and a greater capacity for teachers to make informed decisions.
The recognition of the WISE Award 2021 and the evaluations carried out with Harvard reinforce an essential idea: when education policy is based on science and supports teachers, progress ceases to be anecdotal and becomes sustainable results.
The challenge now is to expand and sustain these experiences. Early literacy does not allow for improvisation: it requires method, continuity, and a shared vision of what it means to teach reading. ATAL offers a proven path forward in that direction.
