Using Acadience Learning Online (ALO) to support the Transition to English (T2E) intervention in improving basic three learners’ literacy skills at Nii Sowah Din School, Accra

Abstract

Early-grade literacy challenges persisted in Ghana, with national assessments indicating that a majority of Basic Three learners performed below expected benchmarks in decoding, fluency, and comprehension. At Nii Sowah Din Basic School, baseline ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) assessments, a foundational literacy tool measuring letter recognition, word reading, and paragraph comprehension, revealed that all learners were below benchmark at the start of the study. This study therefore investigated the integration of Acadience Learning Online (ALO), a real-time digital progress monitoring system, within the Transition to English (T2E) framework to improve literacy skills among eight Basic Three learners.The T2E framework is a structured bilingual literacy programme designed to support learners’ transition from mother-tongue instruction to English through explicit phonics, vocabulary development, fluency practice, and comprehension instruction. The study was grounded in the Simple View of Reading (SVR), which conceptualises reading comprehension as the product of decoding and linguistic comprehension, and operationalised through the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) models to scaffold and intensify instruction based on learner need. Using a pragmatic action research design over six weeks, quantitative data were collected through ALO measures of Oral Reading Fluency (ORF-WC), accuracy, retell, and composite scores, alongside ASER baseline data. Findings showed measurable gains: mean ORF-WC increased from 21.27 to 33.38 words per minute; accuracy improved from 48.1% to 62.6%; and composite literacy scores rose from 48.06 to 86.69. Tier 2 and Tier 3 learners demonstrated differentiated growth trajectories, with intensive support yielding steady incremental gains. Qualitative findings revealed improved instructional grouping, enhanced teacher data literacy, more targeted phonics delivery, and increased learner engagement and confidence. However, challenges related to internet connectivity, teacher workload, and sustainability were reported. The study recommended institutionalising digital progress monitoring within MTSS frameworks, strengthening teacher capacity in data interpretation, scaling ALO-supported T2E implementation across non-GALOP schools, and investing in infrastructure to ensure long-term sustainability. The findings suggested that integrating theoretically grounded scaffolding models with real-time digital monitoring can significantly enhance early-grade literacy instruction in low-resource Ghanaian contexts.