ERIC Number: ED581142
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Jun
Pages: 81
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Improving Numeracy and Literacy: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary
Worth, Jack; Sizmur, Juliet; Ager, Rob; Styles, Ben
Education Endowment Foundation
The project, "Oxford Improving Numeracy and Literacy Programme," was delivered by Oxford University Department of Education. This evaluation tested two different initiatives with Year 2 children: "Mathematics and Reasoning" and "Literacy and Morphemes." The "Mathematics and Reasoning" programme aimed to develop children's understanding of the logical principles underlying mathematics. The "Literacy and Morphemes" programme aimed to teach children about morphemic spelling rules with the aim of aiding their spelling and also their reading comprehension. Fifty-five schools were recruited to participate in the evaluation by the University of Oxford team: 17 were allocated to the numeracy group, 19 to the literacy group, and 19 to the control group. The programmes were evaluated using a randomised controlled trial that compared the progress of pupils who received the programmes to a "business as usual" control group. This evaluation was an efficacy trial. Teacher questionnaires were distributed and collected by test administrators during the school visits and, as a result, the response rates were very high at 82%. Key conclusions include: (1) This evaluation provided evidence that the "Mathematics and Reasoning" programme had a positive impact on pupils' numeracy ability equating to three additional months' progress; (2) There was no evidence to suggest that the "Literacy and Morphemes" programme had an impact on pupils' literacy ability overall; (3) There was an association between greater use of the accompanying computer games and greater impact in the numeracy intervention, suggesting the computer games were important to successful implementation; (4) All teachers were able to implement the programmes, but most agreed there was too much content to deliver in one hour per week and so made various adaptations to their delivery of the programme. In future trials of the programmes, teachers should be permitted to use and integrate the materials in their own way, as they would in a normal teaching situation; and (5) A future trial could evaluate the programmes at scale in more than one location. When drawing up plans for bringing the programmes to scale, the Oxford team should consider whether training and ongoing technical support could be delivered remotely, rather than in person.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Numeracy, Program Evaluation, Elementary School Mathematics, Elementary School Students, Mathematics Education, Morphemes, Literacy Education, Spelling, Spelling Instruction, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Skills, Control Groups, Comparative Analysis, Randomized Controlled Trials, Outcomes of Education, Correlation, Computer Games, Intervention, Program Implementation, Reading Ability, Statistical Analysis, Pretests Posttests, Teacher Surveys
Education Endowment Foundation. 9th Floor Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP, UK. Tel: +44-207-802-1676; e-mail: info@eefoundation.org.uk; Web site: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) (United Kingdom); National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) (United Kingdom)
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A