Archive for August, 2008

This morning on Radio 4’s Today, Barry Sheerman MP and the author Ian Rankin discussed the problem that one in five 14-year-old boys have reading ages below that expected of 11 year-olds. The discussion is well worth listening to but there are a few talking points worth tackling. The first is that, while the widening gap between girls and boys demonstrates there is a problem, we shouldn’t necessarily expect a school system to ensure boys perform as well as girls in reading tests. Other factors (such as natural aptitude, differing ages of development and social cues) might be playing a larger role. It is enough of a challenge to get everyone to a reasonable standard of literacy, besides having to compensate for disadvantages caused elsewhere. But on that point of literacy standards, it is worth underlining that there is a severe problem with reading in UK. It is not new but nor is it being tackled effectively.
Sheerman emphasised the need to teach reading systematically from an early age. We agree. Indeed, a systematic approach is more likely to be appreciated by boys who might prefer to tackle problems using procedural methods. We also have a more specific suggestion. As our report Ready to Read? discussed, there is an effective method for equalising outcomes between middle class children and those from lower income families: synthetic phonics, the strategy we use in our supplementary schools.

This week has been the first week at secondary school for some – how will they have coped in a new secondary environment? Gathering from the an article in today’s Times Education Supplement magazine, many will find the adjustment hard. Why? Because of the large size of many secondaries.
Statistics show that since 1997, the average secondary school is near 1000 pupils – and almost 1 in 10 secondaries have more than 1,500 pupils. Whilst, as the article argues, research on secondary school size is inclusive as to when a school is too large, a good size is thought to be between 500 and 800.

Yesterday saw the publication of two conflicting accounts of how educational standards have fared under the present Labour administration. According to one account, standards had risen; according to the other, they had fallen. One account was that of Government ministers responsible for education. The other account was that of employers and university admissions tutors.
Test Questions:
1. Which account was given by whom?
2. For which account is there greater evidence, and what is that evidence?

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Last month, Anastasia de Waal, Head of Civitas’ Family and Education Unit, undertook a nationwide telephone survey of secondary school teachers to ascertain how reliable and useful they considered current Sats tests (Standard Assessment Tests) taken by pupils in the final year of their primary schooling.
The results of the survey were published today and make for disturbing reading.

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