How literacy, numeracy and special needs strategies and structures affect achievement

Raising Achievement 
and . . .

Attendance

Behaviour / Inclusion

Community and Parents

Early Years

Ethnicity

Gender

Literacy, numeracy and SEN

Out of School hours activities

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Technology

The Bercow Report

Or: Bercow Review of Services for Children and Young People (0-19) with Speech, Language and Communication Needs

This 2008 review found that overall one in 14 five-year-olds are starting school with serious speech, language and communication (SLC) needs and made 40 recommendations centred around five themes:

• Communication is crucial;

• Early identification and intervention are essential;

• A continuum of services designed around the family is needed;

• Joint working is critical; and

• The current system is characterised by high variability and a lack of equity.

Tackling Low educational Achievement  

The analysis found nearly half of all low achievers are white British males. White British students on average – boys and girls – are more likely than other ethnic groups to persist in low achievement. If they start in the lowest categories of achievement in primary school, they are more likely than other ethnic groups to remain there at the end of secondary school.

Eligibility for Free School Meals is strongly associated with low achievement, but significantly more so for white British pupils than other ethnic groups. Other indicators of disadvantage, all measured in the immediate area round the student's home, are also statistically associated with low achievement, such as:

• the neighbourhood unemployment rate;

• percentage of single parent households; and

• the proportion of parents with low educational qualifications.

Very worth a read. Based on Understanding low achievement in English schools, by Geeta Kingdon and Robert Cassen - Case Paper 118. See here.

Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading: The Rose Report  

This is the long-awaited report, by Jim Rose, into the teaching of early reading. Synthetic phonics are recommended. From this, Ruth Kelly is to make the teaching of synthetic phonics a compulsory part of the National Curriculum.

Jim Rose noted that the report,

focuses on best practice, that is to say, practice which yields the greatest benefits for the learner. The review confirms the importance of establishing high quality, systematic phonic work as essential for beginner readers.

The conclusions of the review are to be reflected in the new Early Years Foundation stage.

It should perhaps be noted, for this will be forgotten or over-ridden, that Rose noted,

"the introduction of phonic work should always be a matter for principled, professional judgement based on structured observations and assessments of children’s capabilities." p.3

Good School Libraries Making a Difference to Learning  

Ofsted believe that "this report identifies those factors which help to produce good libraries in primary and secondary schools. It emphasises the importance of: the commitment and support of headteachers; the appointment of specialist library staff; effective monitoring and evaluation; and coherent programmes for developing pupils’ information literacy. 
The report draws on inspection data collected from visits to 32 schools between September 2004 and July 2005. It includes case studies from some of the schools."

Quality Counts 2006  

This is the 10th edition of EDUCATION WEEK’s annual report card on public education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The 2006 report examines the overall impact of state efforts to carry out standards-based education over the past decade, exploring the relationship between those changes and student learning gains.

NB: "Quality Counts" is free to registered users only until February 4, 2006

The Secondary National Strategy: An evaluation of the fifth year  

From the UK's Ofsted, this report says that it "evaluates the impact of the Secondary National Strategy, formerly known as the Key Stage 3 Strategy, on schools and on pupils’ attainment. The survey was based on visits to nearly 180 schools during the academic year 2004-2005. The report evaluates the impact of the Strategy on school leadership, on the quality of teaching and the curriculum, and on how it has influenced achievement and provision in different subjects."

Primary National Strategy: An evaluation of its impact in primary schools 2004/05  

Ofsted say, "The Primary National Strategy (PNS) was introduced in May 2003. This developed the government’s vision for improving primary schools, emphasising the continuing importance of raising standards while making learning enjoyable. The goal is for every primary school to combine excellence in teaching with enjoyment of learning. 

Ofsted was asked to evaluate the implementation of PNS. This began in September 2004 with visits being made to local authorities and schools throughout the academic year."

It is good to see that there is recognition that learning needs to be enjoyable - something that has been conspicuously missing in UK education over the last 15 years . . . . . 

Numeracy research and development initiative 2001-2004 – An overview of numeracy projects  

This overview document, on Australia's DEST site, presents key findings and information from the $7 million Australian Government Numeracy Research and Development Initiative. The purpose of these projects was to investigate a broad range of teaching and learning strategies that lead to improved numeracy outcomes.

The overview presents key findings from 4 national numeracy projects and State/Territory based projects undertaken by educational authorities in partnerships with universities and other organisations. Common findings of the projects are organised under the following themes : 

School
Curriculum, assessment and reporting
Effective learning environments
Pre-service teacher education and professional development
Catering for individual differences
Home and community

English 2000-05: A review of inspection evidence  

From Ofsted, October 2005.

Ofsted say that, "This report evaluates changes in provision for English across primary and secondary schools over the period 2000-05. It draws attention to improvements in standards and teaching. However, the report also identifies groups of pupils who tend to achieve less well in English than might be expected, including boys and pupils from certain minority ethnic groups. It goes on to highlight weaknesses in provision in some schools, such as unimaginative teaching, a narrow curriculum and gaps in assessment."

Removing Barriers: A "can-do" attitude  

Ofsted say of this September 2005 report, 

"The report examines what childcare providers in the private and voluntary sector are doing to make it easier for children with special needs to access care and education and to have the best possible outcomes. Key factors for good practice are identified as including a ‘can-do’ attitude, effective partnerships with parents, joined-up support from other agencies, good leadership and access to training. Although some inspirational practice was found and good practice is emerging, this is not widespread, consistent or widely disseminated. Recommendations are made for local and national government and for the DfES"

Although aimed at early years and education in the private and voluntary sectors, there is much useful information and thinking for state secondary schools. 

Maximising progress - ensuring the attainment of pupils with SEN  

These materials, currently on the DfES Standards site, claim that they are, 

"designed to maximise the attainment of the growing number of pupils with special education needs and disability within mainstream secondary schools who are working within national expectations but currently under-attaining.

However, the guidance will also help you to reflect on the progress of all pupils in your school are identified as having SEN. The materials are intended to help SENCOs align their work with other learning and teaching initiatives from the Strategy aimed at raising attainment for all pupils across the school. They aim to ensure that SENCOs are fully conversant with the Strategy’s approaches to learning and teaching as part of whole-school improvement."

The three downloads which make up the materials are:-

Part 1: Using data – target setting and target getting
Part 2: Approaches to learning and teaching in the mainstream classroom
Part 3: Managing the learning process for pupils with SEN

Useful, maybe even necessary reading.

Characteristics of Effective Schools and Classrooms in the Teaching of Reading  

On the U.S. National Centre for Homeless Education, this MS Word resource is part of the outcome of the first year of a two-year project designed to explore what works in reading instruction for students who are highly mobile. It summarizes the findings of a review of literature on teaching reading to highly mobile students. Usefully, it details procedures and practices that stimulate student reading achievement.

From Evaluation to Improvement   

This course is a revised version of training provided for Ofsted inspectors designed to help them in making reliable judgements about the provision for and progress of pupils in mainstream schools with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

In November 2004, Ofsted made a version of the course available for schools to help them evaluate the effectiveness of their own support for SEN pupils

How to Know a Good Adolescent Literacy Program When You See One: Quality Criteria to Consider

As in the UK there is concern in the US that students are failing to develop their reading skills sufficiently.

This May 2004 brief, from the Alliance for Excellent Education, says it aims "to provide information to help policymakers, educators, parents, and others concerned with adolescent literacy make informed decisions about literacy programs for struggling readers and the programs’ suitability for specific groups of students. The brief is not intended for an audience of literacy experts, and does not pretend to offer a comprehensive program evaluation guide; rather, it is designed to help decision makers ask the right questions when assessing literacy programs for selection for federal, state, and local funding."

Contains some useful thoughts.

Teaching Children to Read

This is the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee report on the methods used to teach children how to read in light of the under-performance of around 20% of children in reading at the end of their primary education in England.

Besides teaching methods, the report also looks at barriers to reading acquisition

This is a useful report stressing as it does that the ability to read is the key to educational achievement. However, whilst acknowledging that, "the acquisition of reading is an extremely complex subject, which is influenced by factors outside a school’s control, such as socio-economic background, neurological development, the language of instruction and the experiences and stimuli a child encounters at a very early age, as well as many others", they were unable to consider these often considerable and prominent factors.

Of concern is that they reinforce the mistake now made by most commentators who invoke literacy target underachievement, that all children should achieve a level 4 at the end of primary school. The original 1988 TGAT (Task Group on Assessment and Testing) report said that "the average expectation for an age 11 pupil will be level 4". (My italics) So, from this it would be expected that some will be below the average and some above, as the normal curve of distribution would predict. It is the failure to understand the history of the Key Stage levels which has led to the claims that so many students "underperform" at the end of Key Stage 2.

For an excellent and detailed critique of literacy and numeracy targets look here.

Every which way we can - A Literacy and Social Inclusion Position Paper

The Literacy and Social Inclusion Project, a partnership between the National Literacy Trust and the Basic Skills Agency, has produced 'Every which way we can', a position paper based on their findings two years into the three-year project. The purpose of the paper is to review the evidence gathered and to provide a resource for those concerned with issues in this field. It raises some of the challenges in the current policy climate, and proposes a ‘literacy vision’, outlining the ‘perfect literacy system’ that best supports those of all ages most at risk from their poor or underdeveloped literacy or language skills. Key factors for successful literacy practice with adults and children most at risk are identified. The paper also provides a model for building parental skills, which takes into account the issues raised in the text.

The diagram, on p.2 of the Summary, illustrating influences on literacy learners is particularly useful as a reminder of all of the factors which affect the development of an individual's literacy.

For Teens, Phonics Isn't Enough   

On the Connect for Kids site this article details ways of working with older students to increase their reading skills. Lots of useful links to other research also.

10 Tips for Software Selection for Math Instruction for LD students  

Useful reminders when considering maths software. On the LD Online site. Look at the Tell the Time programme available here for one example of a "good" programme??

The effects of synthetic phonics teaching on reading and spelling attainment: a seven year longitudinal study  

This report, from Johnson and Watson, February 2005, outlines the effectiveness of a synthetic phonics programme in teaching reading and spelling. Around 300 children in Primary 1 were divided into three groups. One group learnt by the synthetic phonics method, one by the standard analytic phonics method, and one by an analytic phonics programme that included systematic phonemic awareness teaching without reference to print. At the end of the programme, the synthetic phonics taught group were reading and spelling 7 months ahead of chronological age. They read words around 7 months ahead of the other two groups, and were 8 to 9 months ahead in spelling. The other two groups then carried out the synthetic phonics programme, completing it by the end of Primary 1.

At the end of Primary 7, word reading was 3 years 6 months ahead of chronological age, spelling was 1 year 8 months ahead, and reading comprehension was 3.5 months ahead. However, as mean receptive vocabulary knowledge (an index of verbal ability where the average is 100) was 93 at the start of the study, this is a group of children for whom normal performance might be expected to be below average for chronological age on standardised tests. Therefore this may be an underestimate of the gains with this method.

(See an earlier review here) and, for more phonics research, look here on the literacy trust site.

The national literacy and numeracy strategies and the primary curriculum  

This February 2005 report from Ofsted, concludes the second year of a two-year evaluation of the NLNS from 2002 to 2004 and it looks at the early stages of the implementation of the Primary National Strategy (PNS)

There is, unusually for Ofsted, talk of combining excellence in teaching with enjoyment of learning. And, they note that, "In English, teachers’ planning focuses too much on covering the many objectives in the NLS Framework for teaching, instead of meeting pupils’ specific needs. This inflexibility hinders improvements in the quality of English teaching." Does this mean we should disregard NLS objectives I wonder?

What does this presage? Is there a sea-change imminent? Unlikely, I guess. Teachers are only responding to the heavy hand of oppressively regulated, central dictation of content and methodology. This is why primary teachers scurry to cover "objectives" and lose sight of pupil's needs. 

The report is worth a quick look, just to see what Ofsted is flagging up as "concerns". There is some useful stuff here, but, yet again, they play fast and loose with the English language, reporting that "satisfactory" teaching is holding back further improvements in standards. That's right, teaching that is satisfactory isn't actually satisfactory.

Who are these guys? Are they real? Go figure. :-(

What Works for Children with Difficulties in Mathematics?  

This report aimed to collate information and identify ways forward in improving children's maths ability.

Key findings include:-

• Children's arithmetical difficulties are highly susceptible to intervention

• Individualized work with children who are falling behind in arithmetic has a significant impact on their performance. The amount of time given to such individualized work does not, in many cases, need to be very large to be effective.

Very worth a look.

Making Mathematics Count :The Report of Professor Adrian Smith's Inquiry into Post-14 Mathematics Education   

The Inquiry was set up to:

"make recommendations on changes to the curriculum, qualifications and pedagogy for those aged 14 and over in schools, colleges and higher education institutions to enable those students to acquire the mathematical knowledge and skills necessary to meet the requirements of employers and of further and higher education."

It identified three broad areas of considerable concern:

• the shortage of specialist mathematics teachers;

• the failure of the current curriculum and qualifications framework to meet the requirements of learners, higher education and employers, and to ensure that sufficient numbers of young people continue with mathematics post–16;

• the need to support, sustain and enhance current teachers of mathematics through CPD and other teaching and learning resources.

The report suggest ways in which these issues might be tackled.

The national literacy and numeracy strategies and the primary curriculum   

This December 2003 report looks at the implementation and impact of the NLS in a nationally representative sample of 300 primary schools from 1998 to 2002, and the NNS from 1999 to 2002.The evaluation continues from 2002 to 2004 with two new nationally representative samples of 120 schools for each strategy.

The report makes the usual depressing Ofsted reading with Ofsted criticizing teachers and schools for "focusing too much on these subjects [literacy and numeracy] in isolation" and for being unwilling to take a risk with a "rich and balanced curriculum". Errm, like we used to have before the Government-imposed NNS and NLS and a huge testing load distorted what schools were successfully doing, you mean? 

Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy  

On the U.S.-based Alliance for Excellent Education site, Reading Next combines the best research currently available with well-crafted strategies for turning that research into practice. The authors outline 15 key elements of an effective literacy intervention. 

Lots of detail here to work through, but the 15 strategies are worth reviewing. Click here to go directly to them.

Researching Numeracy Teaching Approaches in Primary Schools   

From Australia, the major outcome of this research is the identification, description and elaboration of twelve scaffolding practices that contribute to improved student learning outcomes. These practices describe a range of communicative practices that teachers use to support students’ mathematics learning.

The research notes that, "Where there was evidence of a mutually respectful learning environment in which the teacher and students were expected to formulate, share and justify their thinking, it was more likely that the mathematical potential of the activities would be realized and interactions would be more deeply focused on the mathematics."

Very worth a closer look.

The Big "R" - Reading   

On the LDOnline site, these tips for tutors of reading are reprinted from The Link Vol. 17, No. 3, Fall 1998 Appalachian Educational Laboratory. Useful reminders of key teaching strategies.

A Good Start to Numeracy: Literature Review of Effective Numeracy Strategies in Early Childhood (503k pdf file) 

This Australian longitudinal study examines the practices and learning experiences that support the early numeracy development of children in the year before school (2002) and the first year of schooling (2003). The title of the project is Project Good Start.It will report in 2004. The review also includes electronic sites which contain contain effective strategies and practices.

Look particularly at the "Sandpit Suggestions" - key points from each section. Very worth a look.

Literacy and Social Inclusion: The policy challenge. A Discussion Paper 

From the National Literacy Trust, (April 2004) this discussion paper is for those concerned about the contribution, and consequences, of poor literacy skills to social exclusion. Lots of relevant pointers to good practice plus case study examples. Probably a must-read. (In MS Word format.)

Setting targets for pupils with special educational needs  

This February 2004 Ofsted report is essentially concerned with target-setting for pupils whose levels of ability and attainment are well below those expected for pupils of a similar age.

Removing Barriers to Achievement  

This is the UK Government's (February 2004) vision for enabling children with special educational needs to realise their potential. It builds on the proposals for integrating children's services in the Green Paper Every Child Matters. The focus is to be on early intervention, preventative work, and integrated services for children.

Interesting to note the recognition that, "too much bureaucracy and paperwork associated with the SEN system" stands in the way of increasing children's achievement. But, will the Government's "vision" remove or simply add to this paperwork? 

Teaching Mathematics in Seven Countries (pdf 1.4Mb) 

This NCES (National Centre for Education Statistics) document reports on a 1999 video study comparing the teaching of mathematics in seven countries: Australia, Czech Republic, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, United States. The report is very comprehensive but one of many conclusions is that, 

"If the learning goal for students is high performance on assessments of mathematics, the findings of this study suggest that there is no single method that mathematics teachers in relatively high-achieving countries use to achieve that goal. Different methods of mathematics teaching were found in different high-achieving countries. This conclusion suggests that informed choices of which teaching methods to use will require more detailed descriptions of learning goals than simply high performance on international tests."

Accelerating Reading and Spelling with Synthetic Phonics: A Five Year Follow Up  

In this article Watson and Johnson describe the progress children made, using synthetic phonics, from Scottish Primary 1 (Reception) through to the end of Primary 5 (Year 4), focusing on comparing the attainment of boys with that of girls. They also examined the extent to which children underachieve when taught by a synthetic phonics compared with an analytic phonics programme.

Dyslexia support: one size does not fit all   

Here, (on the National Literacy Trust site), Dr John Rack presents some of the main findings of SPELLIT (Study Programme to Evaluate Literacy Learning through Individualized Teaching). Research conducted as part of the programme investigated the effectiveness of different learning programmes for dyslexic children.

Details of the research may also be found on the Dyslexia Institute's site here.

Targeting support: choosing and implementing interventions for children with significant literacy difficulties  

From the DfES, this guidance, based on research into forty literacy schemes and programmes, aims to help in the choice and implementation  of effective interventions for children who have difficulty in learning how to read, write and spell. Contains a useful reference table of successful intervention programmes. Worth a look.

Talk is vital   

Research shows that exploratory talk is an effective way of using language to think and is one of the building blocks of literacy. Here (on the National Literacy Trust website) Alan Howe explains the need for more exploratory talk at KS3.

Look also at research on this site for one case study of children using exploratory talk.

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study is a comparative study of the reading achievement of ten-year-olds in 2001. It is conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. The survey in England was conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and involved 3156 children in year 5.

The study showed that England was one of the highest-performing countries in the world, and the most successful English-speaking country. The Executive Summary is very worth reading.

Bank Street's Guide to literacy for volunteers and students  

Literacy ideas, strategies and resources from the respected Bank Street College of Education, NY.

Working Memory, Language and Reading  

How working memory problems affect students language and learning, particularly reading comprehension.

From www.brainconnection.com 

Review of Research on Literacy and Special Educational Needs  

The DfES commissioned this May 2000 review of the research literature on teaching approaches designed to help pupils with special educational needs acquire literacy skills.

This research notes:  "There is evidence that there is no single approach or method which will be effective for all pupils within one category of special educational needs."

And, "Initial assessment of a child’s profile of difficulties and need with regard to literacy is essential in the light of the research evidence that the personal characteristics necessary for the acquisition of literacy are so wide-ranging.  It is crucial to establish a child’s entry point and his/her strengths and weaknesses."

Worth reading. If the document has been moved, try searching the NFER site.

Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children   

From the U.S. National Research Council, this 1998 report, is most concerned with children in America who do not read well enough to ensure understanding and to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive economy. The report believes that "current difficulties in reading largely originate from rising demands for literacy, not from declining absolute levels of literacy. In a technological society, the demands for higher literacy are ever increasing, creating more grievous consequences for those who fall short." Again, lots of parallels with the UK's Literacy Programme. Lengthy, so read the Executive Summary?