Key Points
• A diagnostic assessment in 2000 revealed that nearly half of all second graders in Sobral could not read. These results, along with results from a follow-up assessment, marked a turning point in how the municipal government approached education reform.
• In 2001, the government set a goal of 100 percent literacy for children by the end of the second year of primary school. Three years later, over 91 percent of students completing their second year could read text with ease.
• The case of Sobral exhibits many elements that are similar to Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA), an approach for solving complex problems. This paper explores the transformation of Sobral’s education system through the lens of PDIA, with an emphasis on the reform period from 2000-2004.
Insight Note