Standards over time: Have standards of reading and maths in primary schools risen in the past decade

1
Standards over time Have standards of reading
and maths in primary schools risen in the past
decade?
2
A Challenge for Education
Countries/Authorities/Schools want to provide
good education Governments spend a lot of money
trying to improve education Internationally,
not just UK
3
National Initiatives in the Early Years
Reading and Maths On-Entry to Primary School

• Early Years Foundation Stage
• Increased nursery provision
• Curriculum
• Assessment
• Sure Start
• Education
• Action Zones
• Etc. Etc.

Families in disadvantaged areas
4
PIPS Baseline Assessment

• Computer delivered assessment of
• Vocabulary
• Phonological awareness early reading
• Early mathematics
• Additional data
• Date of birth
• Sex
• Free school meals
• First Language
• Pre-school

5
Sample

• 124 primary schools in England

6
Background Variables
NB Not all background information was available
for all pupils. The average completion rates for
EAL, FSM and Pre-school setting were 87, 48 and
72 respectively.
Nationally FSM 16.9 in 2005 and 16.0 in
2006. EAL 11.5 in 2005 and 12.5 in 2006.
7
Comparing Attainment of Pupils in Sample with
National Norms

• Standardised PIPS BLA total score
• Sample did not differ significantly from national
  norms in most years.
• Significantly different in two years but size of
  difference was small.
• Sample was not peculiar!

8
Raw scores from PIPS BLA
9
Interaction Between FSM and academic year for
Early Reading
10
FSM, Academic Year and Early Maths
11
FSM, Academic Year and Vocabulary
12
Summary

• BLA scores were generally stable over time
• No evidence that gap between FSM entitlement was
  decreasing
• Limitations
• No data about participation in early years
  interventions
• No analysis of impact of families

13
International Comparisons Reading at Start of
Year
14
International Comparisons Maths at Start of Year
15
KS1 2 Primary Review

• Standards and Quality in English Primary Schools
  over Time
• Peter Tymms and Christine Merrell
• www.primaryreview.org.uk

16
Multiple Indicators for Complex Organizations

• A Affective, e.g. attitudes, aspirations,
  quality of life.This can apply to both teachers
  and their pupils.
• B Behavioural, e.g. skills, cooperation,
  initiative.
• C Cognitive, e.g. achievement.
• D Demographic descriptors, e.g. sex,
  socio-economic status.
• E Expenditures, e.g. Resources, time.
• F Flow, e.g. who is taught what for how long,
  curriculum balance.
• G Growth e.g. Physical, motor and health
  development.
• Fitzgibbon Tymms, 2002

17
Context

• 1988 Education Reform Act
• National Curriculum
• National End of Key Stage Assessments
• Originally intended to be formative
• Shifted to accountability tool
• Inspection System
• With a different focus to the old system
  accountability
• 1998 National Literacy Strategy
• 1999 National Numeracy Strategy
• A further 600 initiatives to raise attainment of
  11-year olds
• 2003 Every Child Matters

18
Pupils Attitudes

• Generally positive but decline with age
• More positive towards reading than maths
• Since the late 1980s attitudes in the upper
  primary age range have declined with respect to
  reading
• Attitudes to maths, though less positive than
  towards reading, have remained stable
• There is also evidence that stress levels among
  pupils have increased since as testing has
  increased.

19
(No Transcript)
20
Pupils Academic Attainment

• Controversy
• Education, Education, Education
• children gaining a level 4 in reading between
  1995 and 2000 rose from 48 to 75
• For maths the rise was from 44 to 72
• Large scale reform is not only possible but can
  be achieved quickly (Barber, 2000).

21
(No Transcript)
22

• Reading standards in primary schools have been
  more or less static since the 1950s
• Mathematics has gradually risen over the years.
  Most substantial improvements since 1995
• Seriously misleading rise in KS2 statutory test
  results between 1995 and 2000

23
Demographic Descriptors

• Average number of children per family is falling
• Number of live twins and multiple births
  increasing
• Immigration increased
• Number of languages spoken increased

24
Expenditures

• 2005 - 6
• 10,908 million was spent on primary schools
  (excl OFSTED)
• 220 million spent on OFSTED
• 1998 - 2005
• 597.25 million for National Literacy Strategy
• 553.05 million for National Numeracy Strategy
• 2007
• 18.9 million on KS2 statutory assessments

25
Suggestions for Future

• Policies should be much more closely tied to
  research evidence
• Strategies should be trialled and scientifically
  evaluated before introduction on a national basis
• Fife Peer Learning Project
• Research to help inattentive, hyperactive and
  impulsive children succeed in the classroom
• Independent monitoring of standards