The Second Mathematics Standard Assessment Tasks at Key Stage 1: issues of reliability raised by a five school study

This paper assesses the value that can be put on the mathematical Standard Assessment Task (SAT) score as an indicator of how children are doing compared to others. The results of a study of a sample of 171 Year 2 children from five randomly selected primary schools within one Local Education Authority (LEA) are presented. Pupils’ scores on Mathematics 7, a standardised mathematics test for 7 year‐olds are compared to the mathematics SAT score elicited by them in the previous half‐term. Results show that children with the same Mathematics 7 score may be designated Level 1, 2 or 3 on the mathematics SAT. Conclusions, based on such a small study, are tentative. There is a need to be aware that finding out how a child is doing may be more complicated than simply looking at the SAT results. It may be hypothesised that the 10 point assessment scale is too crude a summative device to measure children's mathematical standards accurately.     

A Study of Teacher Assessment at Key Stage 1

This paper is based on semi‐structured interviews with 59 Year 2 teachers across 45 schools in one LEA. It documents their practice of and attitudes to teacher assessment and it proposes a developmental model which describes and explains their approaches. The assessment of process skills is analysed and the effects of assessment on children's learning and teachers’ practice are discussed. The manageability of teacher assessment is also examined. The findings are linked with previous and subsequent studies on teacher assessment and suggestions for further research, based on these outcomes, are offered.     

Teacher Assessment in the Inner City at Key Stage 1

This study examines the experience of national teacher assessment in a sample of inner‐city infant schools. In particular, it addresses the conduct of teacher assessment in the three core curriculum areas of English, mathematics and science, and modifications made for children with English as a second language and those with special educational needs. Two distinct approaches to teacher assessment emerged, with integration into classroom activities occurring in some cases, but frequently separate ‘bolt‐on’ activities being carried out. It is interesting to note that almost all the teachers used two or three standard assessment tasks instead of continuous teacher assessment to assess children’ s attainment. Teachers consistently saw time as a vital ingredient for meeting the needs of children with ‘additional educational needs’ in relation to teacher assessment. The findings are discussed in the context of recent policy developments and in terms of theoretical models of teachers’ approaches to assessment.     

Wider reading at Key Stage 3: happy accidents,bootlegging and serial readers

This paper reports a small‐scale study of wider reading at Key Stage 3 in current English classrooms in secondary schools in the south of England. Six English teachers, three of whom were relatively new to teaching, were interviewed on what they thought about wider reading. The findings indicate that because of a lack of time and absence of demand for such reading in the current English curriculum, the more experienced teachers felt ambivalent about encouraging and assessing wider reading. The less experienced teachers were uncertain about how to encourage it and whether to respond positively to students' preferred reading patterns, such as the serial reading of books by a particular author. In several of the schools concerned, it appeared that school librarians had taken over the role of encouraging wider reading, as the English teachers focused on the technical skills required by the National Literacy Strategy. Where teachers did initiate wider reading, this was sometimes against departmental practice, a semi‐illicit addition to their workload and could thus be seen almost as a form of ‘bootlegging’. In addition to wider educational effects, the lack of support for this practice has implications for students' future success in English at General Certificate of Secondary Education and Key Stage 5 (16–18) as both require students to read whole texts widely and confidently. The paper argues that it might be more productive to prepare students for this than to expect such reading to develop spontaneously as a ‘happy accident’.     

Language learning at Key Stage 2: findings from a longitudinal study

This paper discusses some of the findings from a 3-year longitudinal study of language learning in the upper stage of English primary schools, i.e. at Key Stage 2. This largely qualitative study (commissioned by the then Department for Children, Schools and Families) was designed to explore and document developing provision and practice in a sample of primary schools that had chosen to introduce language teaching ahead of the proposal that it should become part of statutory requirements. The research team examined the approaches and mechanisms these schools were using to develop and maintain language learning and teaching, teachers’ and children's attitudes towards language learning and children's achievement in oracy and literacy, as well as considering the possible broader cross-curricular impact of language learning. This paper goes on to consider some of the implications for embedding language learning and teaching in English primary schools.     

Talking and thinking together at Key Stage 1

In this paper, we describe an innovative approach to promoting effective classroom‐based groupwork and the development of children's speaking and listening at Key Stage 1. This approach, known as Thinking Together, was initially developed for use with Key Stage 2 children. The work reported here explains how this approach has now been applied to the teaching of speaking and listening at Key Stage 1. The approach is founded on contemporary sociocultural theory and research. At the heart of the Thinking Together approach is a concern to help children build and develop their knowledge and understanding together, through enabling them to practise and develop ways of reasoning with language.     

Children reading pictures: History visuals at Key Stages 1 and 2

Recent legislation imposing ‘performance management’ on schools seems to assume that teachers apply learned skills to standard situations in pursuit of their goals. Yet if professional teaching is knowledge-based and value-driven, teachers will not manage their own practices in any straightforward sense. Teaching practices are slow-developing outputs from much thought and experience, not easily changed through direct intervention. It is the circumstances of teaching which are directly managed, allowing teachers to use their expertise freely in service of their pupils.     

Improvement in national test reading scores at Key Stage 1; grade inflation or better achievement?

The aim of the UK National Literacy Strategy is to raise standards in literacy. Strong evidence for its success has, however, been lacking: most of the available data comes from performance on tests administered in schools or from Office for Standards in Education reports and is vulnerable to suggestions of bias. An opportunistic analysis of data from a population cohort study extending over three school years compares school-based scores at school entry and at age 7-8 with independently administered scores on similar tests. The results show a small but statistically significant rise between 1998 and 1999 and between 1998 and 2000 in scores on both Key Stage 1 Reading Standard Assessment Tasks taken in schools and the reading component of the WORD test taken independently. This is clear evidence for a real rise in reading attainment over this period, which may be attributable to the children's experience of the National Literacy Strategy.     

Pictures in Books for Children at Key Stage 1: an analysis

The Department of Education and Science (DES) provided a graded list of books for pupils at Key Stage 1. These books tend to include pictures. Pictures have the potential to offer information which might be difficult to provide briefly or meaningfully in simple language. The pictures of the books on the DES booklist were analysed in order to gauge some aspects of their potential. It was found that, while most might serve as a second line of communication to facilitate the construction of meaning, they also fell into two distinct groups, one of ‘picture’ books and one of ‘word’ books. Writers and illustrators and those who select and grade books for young children might consider the attributes of word and picture together so that there is a smoother progression from one group to the other.     

Contextual effects on predicting risk for reading difficulties in first and second grade

This study utilized early reading assessment data from a randomized trial of 210 urban and rural schools in Texas to examine contextual effects on risk prediction in first and second grade. The primary objective was to examine the roles of (a) individual differences, (b) the grade 1 classroom, and (c) the pairing of first and second grade teachers in determining grade 2 outcomes in word reading and fluency. A second objective was to investigate whether the administration format of the assessment (paper, paper plus desktop, handheld plus desktop) or the level of teacher support (web mentoring, no mentoring) moderated the prediction. These moderator variables proved not to be significant. Subsequent analyses found that a combination of student pretest and mean of pretest classroom was a better predictor than student pretest alone. Additionally, the effect of student scores varied by teacher-pair. On average, intraclass correlations (ICCs) ranged from 6% to 17%. Differences in ICCs at the classroom level were much greater than at the school level, and differences in urban schools were twice that of rural schools.     

The National Assessment in Science at Key Stage 3 in England and Wales and its Impact on Teaching and Learning

The development of a framework for the content and assessment of National Curriculum science in England and Wales, following the 1988 Education Reform Act, is described, with a particular emphasis on assessment at the end of Key Stage 3 (14-year-old pupils). The University of Exeter evaluations of Key Stage 3 science assessments in 1995 and 1996 are outlined and the findings concerning the reliability and validity of the testing are presented. The views of science teachers on the impact of this assessment on teaching and learning are summarised, with particular reference to the structure, delivery and interpretation of the National Curriculum, the setting of pupils, continuity and progression, the preparation of pupils for the tests and teacher assessment.     

Minimum and maximum entitlements: literature at Key Stage 2

How far does the difference between a child's minimum reading entitlement (“I can read different types of text for different purposes – and I've got level 4 to prove it”) and maximum entitlement (“I recognise the power of literature and want to read it for the rest of my life”) encapsulate a tension present in many primary classrooms? In England, literature (poetry, narrative, plays) is taught as part of the National Literacy Strategy and a child's knowledge of how it works may be assessed if literary texts are included in the end of Key Stage 2 reading test. The requirements of the Strategy and especially the reading test may well impact on the maximum entitlement of a child to become a reader for life. This article explores some of the dangers which result from viewing the minimum entitlement as the maximum being aimed at in the classroom.     

Measuring Pupil Progress at Key Stage 1: Using baseline assessment to investigate value added

This paper presents results from an LEA-commissioned value-added project conducted with 107 primary schools in Surrey. The project was designed to explore the use of baseline assessment at entry to reception classes to measure pupil progress across Key Stage 1 (KS1). Pupil performance in KS1 assessments of the core curriculum areas English (reading and writing), mathematics and science were analysed. The results of multi-level analyses, the impact of pupil background factors, the feedback of results to schools and the way Surrey Education Service and schools are using the information in school improvement activities are described.     

Differential effects of reading trainings on reading processes: a comparison in Grade 2

Phonics, fluency, and reading strategy trainings are evidence-based interventions that foster the reading skills of poor readers in primary school. The purpose of the present study was to compare differential effects of the three types of trainings on the efficiency of component processes on word, sentence, and text level immediately after the training and at a 3-month follow-up. The 235 poor readers were randomly allocated to one of the reading interventions or to a control condition. All interventions consisted of 25 sessions that were scheduled twice a week and lasted 45 min. Results indicated short-term effects of the phonics training and the strategy training on the efficiency of a broad range of word-level and sentence-level processes. None of the treatment effects persisted over the long term, indicating the need for instructional efforts to regularly practice the acquired skills after the actual training.