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1) To explore whether issues raised in the 2011 pilot evaluation4 have been addressed, specifically:
the confidence of teachers in the administration of the screening check and how schools have prepared for it
the appropriateness of the screening check for specific groups of pupils (specifically, those with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and English as an Additional Language (EAL))
2) To identify and track the impact of the check on teaching and learning, including:
understanding the impact of the teaching of phonics in primary schools assessing the impact of the PSC on teaching of the wider literacy curriculum
quantifying the impact of the check on the standard of reading and assessing its value for money
Conclusions
This three-year evaluation has tracked developments in schools from the first national introduction of the PSC in 2012 to the current, 2014, round. Over this period, teachers’ responses suggest that most of them now see the standard of the check as appropriate. Teachers have integrated information from the check with their other records of children’s progress in phonics. Its introduction has required administrative effort in schools and gives rise to some, relatively low, costs in terms of time or resources. Little training is now required for teachers and many are familiar with the procedures for the check.
The three years have also seen a range of changes in schools which were, according to teacher reports, made in response to the check; the evidence suggests that a majority of schools have made some adjustments. These changes consist of improvements to the teaching of phonics, such as faster pace, longer time, more frequent, more systematic, and better ongoing assessment. Children are also introduced to the pseudo words that form part of the check. Most schools, however, continue to teach other strategies for word reading alongside a strong commitment to phonics. Nevertheless, according to these teacher reports, the introduction of the check has had impacts on teaching.
To assess whether its introduction also had impacts on pupils’ learning is more difficult, as the national introduction of the check made it impossible to have a control group. A further complexity concerns the date of implementation of the PSC. It was introduced for the first time nationally in 2012, but was piloted in 2011.
Awareness of the proposed introduction of the check may have given rise to a heightened emphasis on phonics in schools prior to its national introduction. The process evaluation of the pilot (Coldwell et al, 2011) found that the sample of schools in the pilot were already making some changes to their phonics practice.
While keeping these complexities and methodological limitations in mind, the national results show an improvement in performance in phonics, as measured by the check, which would be consistent with the adjustments to teaching methods reported above. Analyses of pupils’ literacy (reading and writing) scores in the national datasets over four years were not conclusive: there were no improvements in attainment or in progress that could be clearly attributed to the introduction of the check; attainment and progress improved in the years both before and after its introduction. As far as it is possible to report, given the methodological limitations of the study, therefore, the evidence suggests that the introduction of the check has had an impact on pupils’ attainment in phonics, but not an identifiable impact (or not yet) on their attainment in literacy. It will be of continuing interest to review the results at key stage 1 in future years and also the results at key stage 2 as the pupils who took the check progress through their later years of schooling.
I've started a thread on the IFERI site about this same topic and I think Dick's comments and suggestions re possible 'control groups' are very interesting indeed:
