By Dave DeFusco
When Nikkat Afrin began her summer project with Peblink, an educational platform that connects students and startups for project-based work, she thought she would be working on data systems in a straightforward way—collecting numbers, organizing them and presenting results. What she didn’t expect was to find herself helping shape a vision for how the world might finally understand which literacy programs truly help people learn to read.
Afrin, a student in the Katz School’s M.S. in Data Analytics and Visualization, was given the challenge of creating the structure for the World Literacy Research Center (WLRC), a new effort led by the World Literacy Foundation and Reading Is Fundamental that aims to bring together information about literacy programs from around the world into one shared platform.
“In just eight weeks, I had to design how all the pieces would work together—how data would be collected, how it would be organized and how it could be used by teachers, governments and organizations,” said Afrin. “At first, it was overwhelming, but I realized that this project was bigger than just data; it was about helping people everywhere gain the chance to read and learn.”
Around the world, countless literacy programs are created every year. Some are phone apps that help children practice reading; others are local projects where teachers work with parents in small communities. The problem, said Afrin, is that “nobody really knows which programs are working best.”
Much of the information about literacy outcomes is hidden in separate reports, stored in small databases or limited to pilot projects that never get shared. That means a tool that helps children succeed in Africa might never be tried in Asia, and lessons learned in one community may never reach another.
“The data is fragmented, and that slows everyone down,” she said. “If we can connect the dots, we can stop reinventing solutions and start scaling up what actually works.”
Afrin’s design for the WLRC lays out how information could flow from many different sources into one shared system. Universities, NGOs, governments and even student competitions could all contribute data. Some groups might upload files, others might use apps to collect information in the field and still others could connect through online systems that transfer data automatically. Once collected, the information would be cleaned, organized and stored in a central hub. From there, users could see results through reports, dashboards or interactive maps.
“The idea is that whether you’re a small nonprofit or a national government, you can find insights that help you improve literacy outcomes,” said Afrin.
For Afrin, one of the most important goals was to capture the full picture of literacy, not just reading test scores. The framework she designed measures not only reading ability but also whether a tool is easy to use, whether it fits the local culture and language, and whether it can be scaled up affordably.
“Literacy isn’t just about sounding out words,” she said. “It’s about comprehension, confidence, cultural relevance and accessibility. A tool might boost test scores, but if it’s too expensive or doesn’t work in local languages, it won’t make a lasting impact.”
The WLRC’s framework would allow for comparisons across programs, showing, for example, which tools deliver the greatest improvement in reading for the lowest cost. Early benchmarks suggest that top programs can raise reading scores by 15 to 20 percent with high usability ratings, all for less than $5 per student.
For Afrin, the project was both a professional milestone and a personal discovery, including a trip to Washington, D.C. where she met Illinois Congressman Brad Schneider. “This experience not only allowed me to explore a new path and broaden my perspective, it left me with memories I will always value,” she said. “Peblink’s vision and commitment to advancing literacy on a global scale reflect ambitious and meaningful goals for the future, and I feel fortunate to have been part of such an inspiring mission.”
