Randomized Evaluation of Reading Skills: an Opportunity for Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

In the context of public policies, randomized evaluation of the impact of public programs and policies is fundamental because it provides the most credible and reliable way to learn what works and what does not in education to reduce poverty and improve the well-being of individuals and society. There is an urgency in the literature emerging during the pandemic to develop each student's reading skills since there is no development without literacy. For this reason, research studies report randomized control trials (RCT) for comprehensive reading programs that are of great interest to the educational system. This article aims to analyze the characteristics of these studies and the trends of new contributions to education. To achieve this, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) of 63 articles published between January 2015 and January 2019 in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases. We explored three themes using seven questions. The themes were a) Impact evaluation and randomized control trial (RCT), its approach and criteria; b) innovation and technology in reading programs; and c) the use of technology in the social appropriation of knowledge. The findings showed an increase in randomized control trials in impact evaluation, the need to optimize the quality of these studies, and the challenge of integrating innovation and technology in reading programs. We concluded that increasing and optimizing the impact evaluation approach in these topic research contributes in a substantive way to researchers and government decision making and to advance in the path of achieving a fair, equitable and quality education for all.