ELEC-RI

• Remedial education program is a specific educational intervention aimed at addressing the learning needs of a targeted group of children who are lagging behind academically or not mastering specific competencies in early grades
• An important element among the efforts to improve education outcomes of low performing students of different ages and in very diverse environments, particularly the most disadvantaged
• Children who have been excluded, who live in remote or conflicted affected areas, orphans, and other vulnerable groups are most likely to need remedial education
• Students receiving poor quality instruction and who do not manage to follow the regular classroom can benefit greatly from remedial instruction before they lose interest in continuing to study and fail
• Government and some NGOs in low-income countries have established some form of remedial education programs to help students catch up with reading or math in the early grades, many starting as small pilots
• Training teachers to teach the national curriculum with an emphasis on reading, including scripted lesson plans, together with ongoing support to apply research-based strategies to help low performers is one effective approach
• Some countries have introduced remedial programs that take place during the summer or after regular classes, conducted by teachers or others such as peer tutors, para-teachers, or even family members
• Para-teachers and other assistants, usually community members, after receiving some training can provide the necessary extra attention to struggling students
• Results from programs that use such an approach have been encouraging, with early intervention being particularly effective in improving reading skills
• Grade repetition usually does not lead to improved outcomes and repeaters most likely end up dropping out of school
• Private tutoring for those who can afford it has also been widely used as a remedial strategy and can be effective in improving academic achievement and reducing mainstream teacher's workload
• Remedial programs can be effective even when interventions occur later on, not bound to the age-grade system, reducing learning deficits found in a country's education system
• Remedial interventions should start early on, the sooner reading difficulties are addressed, the faster reading outcomes will improve
• Defining low performing students, defining remedial intervention goals based on learning needs, improving reading and math skills, providing an alternative to grade repetition and avoiding drop out, defining indicators of expected outcomes, preparing participants for reintegration in the regular classroom or to move to another level are important aspects of designing remedial programs
• Small group tutoring, separate classrooms for low-performing students, grouping students by ability, volunteer tutoring, peer tutoring, one-to-one tutoring, and computer-assisted interventions are different modes of implementing and delivering remedial programs
• Remedial education programs can be delivered in a variety of settings and are not limited to just poor-resourced environments
• Remedial education programs will likely be most effective when included as part of a country's overall strategic plan to deliver quality education for all of its students