Using School-Level Data to Investigate the Impact of a One-to-One Mathematics Teaching Resource in English Primary Schools

This research investigates the potential for a one-to-one coaching tool used by adults other than teachers to be able to deliver greater mathematics progress for primary school children without adding significantly to school costs. Plus 1 and Power of 2 (+1 and Po2) are workbooks designed to be used by adults other than teachers working on a one-to-one basis with children to develop numeracy skills. This quantitative study seeks to examine the impact of +1 and Po2 by considering performance data aggregated at the school level. The attainment of children at 1071 English schools which use the +1 and Po2 products was compared with that of peers in other schools using a quasi-experimental research design based on England’s national performance measures. Statistical analysis suggests that schools using +1 and Po2 show higher levels of mathematics attainment than those who may have used other resources. Furthermore, there is an important finding that assessment attendance is higher, and disapplication from the curriculum lower, in schools using +1 and Po2. This indicates that use of this one-to-one intervention improves access to national tests for children and represents an opportunity for school leaders to maximise the cost effectiveness of existing non-teaching staff or volunteers.

Schools, Universities and Large-Scale Assessment Responses to COVID-19: The Swedish Example

The aim of this paper is to describe, analyze, and discuss how Swedish schools and the national tests in schools, university teaching and examination, and the college admissions test, Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT), have been affected by the COVID-19 situation. A further aim is to discuss the challenges in schools, universities and in the admissions test process in Sweden which are due to the COVID-19 situation. Contrary to many other countries, Swedish schools remained open, except for upper secondary school and universities where teaching went online. However, the spring administrations of the national tests and the high-stake college admission test, SweSAT, were cancelled, which had impact on admissions to universities in the fall. By using documentation from the news, school, and university authorities, as well as governmental reports of the events and a student survey, challenges are discussed. The novelty of this study includes a discussion of the events and their upcoming challenges. A discussion of what could be learned and what to expect in the close future is included, as well as conclusions which can be drawn from this situation.

Conclusion

This chapter concludes, placing these findings in the context of religion and political behavior broadly considered. It tests my theory in a large sample of countries using the World Values Survey. Cross-national tests indicate that the pattern described in the above cases is evident in much of the world: the general trend is that for small sects, communal prayer decreases support for democracy, while the opposite is true for large groups. Larger groups can expect to benefit from free elections due to their sheer size, so increased salience of sectarian identity---such as that created by communal worship---should promote democratic attitudes; the reverse logic holds for smaller groups, who would be unlikely to win elections. Finally, the chapter uses the suggestive evidence from the World Values Survey to describe some of the conditions under which this theory should---and should not---apply.

A librarian in the Classroom

In Linköping there is an ongoing investment in staffed school libraries, so-called focus libraries. Focus libraries has three aims: to be an integrated part of the school, to promote reading and develop students' information literacy. At Hjulsbroskolan the librarian cooperates with teachers in the classroom to implement these aims. The work to develop student’s information literacy starts in preschool class. The development continues the coming years in close collaboration with teachers. The librarian devotes most of her time in the classroom with the teachers to plan, implement and evaluate the area of work and assess the students' efforts. This way, there has been an increased student learning. This is shown in the results of the national tests, regarding the issues of source criticism. A dedicated and structured teaching in information retrieval and source evaluation, implemented by teacher and librarian in cooperation, leads to increased achievement for students.

Exploring the Associations between Delayed School Entry and Achievement in Primary and Secondary School

This research investigated whether delayed school entry was associated with higher achievement in national tests of reading and numeracy in grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 (n=2823). Delayed entry was related to advantages in reading (0.14SD) and numeracy (0.08SD) at grade 3, although little variance was explained (1-2%). This slight advantage persisted for both domains in grades 5 and 7, albeit with smaller effects. In grade 9 there was no association between delayed entry and either reading or numeracy. Exploratory analyses with subsamples in each grade (n=424-667) revealed no associations between delayed entry and achievement after controlling for inattention and hyperactivity, and negative associations between inattention and achievement in all grades in both domains (-0.33, -0.49SD).

Can National Tests from the Last Year of Compulsory School Be Used to Obtain More Detailed Information about Academic Performance in Children Treated for Brain Tumours? A Nationwide, Population-Based Study from Sweden

Children treated for brain tumours often have late-appearing complications that may affect their school performance. Uneven skill profiles may help reveal late complications that can be compensated for but otherwise remain undetected. We investigated Swedish national school tests of oral, reading and writing skills in the first foreign language (English), the mother tongue (Swedish) and mathematics. Data were obtained from The Swedish Childhood Cancer Registry and Statistics Sweden. The results from 475 children diagnosed with a brain tumour before their 15th birthday and 2197 matched controls showed that children treated for brain tumours evinced more difficulties with national tests than controls in almost all subtests, especially in the subject English, and that they may perform better on oral than written tasks. There were larger differences between female cases and controls than between male cases and controls; age at diagnosis played a significant role for some subtests, whereas tumour grade did not. Missing information from national tests proved to be a strong predictor of poor academic performance. Our results show that regular educational follow-ups, as a complement to neuropsychological follow-ups, are important for all children treated for brain tumours, regardless of sex, age at diagnosis or tumour grade.

È possibile predire nell’infanzia le capacità scolastiche e di linguaggio ad 11 anni: i risultati di uno studio di coorte in Australia

It is possible to predict school and language skills at age of 11: the results of a cohort study in Australia Early language skills are essential for preschool learning and subsequent school results, however it is not clear at what time it is possible to predict the subsequent difficulties in an optimal way early, for a timely intervention. This Australian study followed 1.910 children from the age of 7.5-10 months, collecting data on 12 risk factors associated with language development. A subgroup of 839 children was analyzed with full follow-up at 11 years, language assessment at 2, 4, 5, 7 years and evaluation of school results with national tests at 8, 10 and 12 years. Early risk factors were good predictors of school achievement at 11. Language proficiency at 4 years was the best predictor of language outcomes at 11 years. The need for early support to the family environment in the presence of risk factors is confirmed and the best time to decide the need for intervention on language development is identified at the age of 4.

Læringsfremmende vurderingspraksis på ungdomstrinnet: Funn fra TALIS 2018 og LISA-prosjektet

Assessment practices promoting learning at the lower secondary level: Findings from TALIS 2018 and the LISA project This chapter presents some of the results from the Norwegian TALIS 2018 survey related to professional knowledge, competence, and practice. Findings from teachers’ reporting on their own teaching practices are highlighted, specifically the part of their teaching that deals with assessment practices. Results from the TALIS survey are then interpreted in light of the results from a research project that deals with the same topic with other data sources. The Linking Instruction and Student Achievement project (LISA) combines video data from teaching practices in language arts and mathematics at the lower secondary level with test results from national tests (reading and arithmetic) from the same classes from which the observation data were taken. LISA is the largest video study of its kind of classroom practices in the Nordic countries and is a suitable frame of interpretation for TALIS 2018 data, as all data materials are linked to the last period of the former national curriculum in Norway. Findings from TALIS 2018 show that there could have been far more teachers who checked that the feedback they provide on written assignments is understood by their students. Results from the LISA project confirms this finding and also show that quite a few teachers are responsible for a large part of the feedback that is regarded to be of high quality. The chapter indicates that there is great potential for working more collectively on this topic both in the teacher education stage and as part of a well-managed lifelong learning system for teachers.