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Despite extensive research on attainment grouping, the impact of attainment grouping on pupil attainment remains poorly understood and contested. This paper presents evidence from a study conducted with 2944 12–13 year olds, from 76 schools in England, who were allocated to between‐class attainment groups ('setting') in English and mathematics over the first 2 years of secondary schooling. After controlling for prior attainment, pupils in the top set performed significantly better than pupils in the middle and bottom sets in both English and mathematics. The findings indicate a widening gap in attainment, especially in the case of English. Findings, especially in the case of mathematics, provide more evidence of a relative benefit for pupils placed in top sets than a relative detriment for those in bottom sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores practice examples relating to young people's transitions from care to adulthood. It discusses examples drawn from young people's pathways to adulthood, leaving care law and policy and participation. The paper concludes with a discussion of the research evidence on promoting the resilience of young people from care to adulthood, by proposing a framework for evaluating the impact of practice. It is suggested that practice should be interrogated in respect of the contribution made to stability and continuity, educational achievement, involving young people, preparation and support into adulthood, and health and well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a description of the background characteristics and attainment profile of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) in England, and of those missing a value for this variable. Free school meal eligibility is a measure of low parental income, widely used in social policy research as an individual indicator of potential disadvantage. It is routinely treated as context for judging both individual and school‐level attainment, as an indicator of school composition, and has been proposed as the basis for the pupil premium funding policy for schools. Knowledge of the quality, reach and limitations of FSM as an indicator is therefore fundamental to accurate decision‐making in a number of important areas. This paper uses a national dataset of all pupils (PLASC) for 2007. It looks at the relationship between different indicators of pupil background and attainment to help decide how useful FSM remains in relation to its suggested alternatives, and how to handle the crucial question of missing data and to describe more fully than previously the national picture of who is eligible for free school meals. The results show that, while the distinction between take‐up and eligibility has been eroded, FSM remains a useful and clear stratifying variable for pupil attainment patterns in school, linked to type of school attended, school mobility, living in care, special needs, first language and minority ethnic group. The pupils missing FSM values fall into two groups, based largely on their type of school and how long they have been there. One group attends fee‐paying schools and is most similar to non‐FSM pupils elsewhere and could be aggregated with them in future analyses that do not want to omit them. The remaining missing FSM pupils form a deprived and perhaps super‐deprived group. These should not be omitted, nor assumed to be like non‐FSM pupils, as currently happens in official school performance figures in England in a way that disadvantages schools with very deprived intakes. The proposal here is that missing FSM pupils in state‐funded institutions should be treated in future as a third distinct group. If these issues about missing data are resolved, and other limitations accepted, FSM remains a better indicator of low socioeconomic status than the current alternatives discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper provides empirical evidence on sibling spillover effects in school achievement using administrative data on 230,000 siblings in England. We extend previous strategies to identify peer effects by exploiting the variation in school test scores across subjects observed at ages 11 and 16 as well as variation in peer quality between siblings. We find a statistically significant positive spillover effect from the older to the younger sibling. Sibling spillovers account for a non‐negligible proportion of the attainment gap between low‐ and higher income pupils in England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the international problem of 'early school leaving', this paper explores the issue of sustained participation in upper secondary education in England. It focuses in particular on the position of middle attainers, who constitute a large proportion of the cohort and whose progress will be vital in realising the government's goal of 'Raising the Participation Age' to 18 by 2015. The paper draws on evidence from national research undertaken as part of the Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training in England and Wales and analysis of New Labour and Coalition policy between 2000-2012. It uses a three-year local study of 2400 14- and 16-year-olds in an established school/college consortium to illustrate the effects of policy and practice on middle attainers. We argue that this important group of young people was 'half-served' by New Labour, because of its incomplete and contradictory 14-19 reforms, and is now being 'overlooked' by Coalition policy because of its emphasis on high attainers. We conclude by suggesting a range of measures to support the 14+ participation, progression and transition of middle attainers in the English education and training system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Against a background of research and national statistics that consistently show that educational participation and achievement of young people in and leaving care is significantly lower than is the case for the non-care population, previous research has shown the positive impact that social, leisure and informal learning activities can have on the educational participation and achievements of young people, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The UK: Care Matters Green Paper stated that involvement in leisure and social activities can have a positive impact on the self-esteem of young people in and leaving care and upon their educational attainment and later success in the labour market. This paper reports on the English results of a cross-national study of young people from a public care background and their pathways to education in Europe. Using case study examples it explores the impact that social, leisure and informal learning activities can have on educational participation and educational pathways of young people in and leaving care. The paper argues that, in view of these findings, encouraging and supporting young people in and leaving care into these types of activities should be a priority for social care professionals, carers and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a Gini-type index for measuring ‘attainment equity’ in schools; that is to say, how far a school (or group of schools) is from having a ‘fair’ proportion of its examination success attributable to a fair proportion of its student population. Using data from the National Pupil Database, the Index is applied to more than 20,000 students with matched attainment records at KS2 and KS4 in two ‘statistical-neighbour’ local authorities in England, capturing the extent to which they are meeting a public policy notion of equity. It is then combined with existing contextual value added measures to analyse school and local authority performance in terms of both attainment equity and context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background. A significant number of children now enter formal education in England with reduced levels of proficiency in oral language. Children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and who are English language learners (ELL) are at risk of limited oral language skills in English which impacts on later educational achievement. Aims. This paper reports the development of a theoretically motivated oral language intervention, Talking Time, designed to meet the needs of preschool children with poor language skills in typical preschool provision. Sample. One hundred and forty-two 4-year-old children attending three inner city preschools in a disadvantaged area of London, England. Method. This is a quasi-experimental intervention study comparing children exposed to Talking Time with children exposed to a contrast intervention and children receiving the statutory early years curriculum. Measures were taken of both targeted and non-targeted language and cognitive skills. Results. Data were analysed for the ELL. The intervention had a significant effect on vocabulary, oral comprehension, and sentence repetition but not narrative skills. As predicted, there were no effects on the skills which were not targeted. Conclusions. Regular evidence-based oral language interactions can make significant improvements in children's oral language. There is a need to examine the efficacy of more intensive interventions to raise language skills to allow learners to access the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the government's initiative to change the teaching of literacy in primary schools in England. It draws on evidence from a one-year ESRC-funded project that observed teaching in the first year of the NLS and a two-year follow-up study that revisited and re-interviewed several of the teachers from the original study. It proposes that, although substantial changes have been made to the organisation and procedures of literacy teaching, deeper pedagogical change is less obvious in some classrooms. It further argues that for teachers to have the freedom to develop their pedagogy, the climate of coercion and outcome-led education must change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the subject uptake of the pupils who took part in the 1984 Assessment of Performance Unit (APU) Age 15 Science Survey in England. Sex-related and ability-related differences in uptake; Common subjects; Accounts of the uptakes of science subjects and modern foreign languages.

This paper reports research into the relationship between the apparent variety of standards applied to different GCE Ordindary level subjects and school- children's avowed preferences for subjects. The ordering of subjects by grades awarded agrees closely with those derived in similar research in England and elsewhere and is shown to be comparatively stable across time. This ranking is also shown to agree closely with expressed preferences of subjects by 14-year-olds, and reasonably closely with those of 16-year-olds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving school is a major event for students, with potential impacts on both student and school performance. Students can experience a diversity of move types, including variation in timing, origin and destination, though this complexity is not always acknowledged in studies or educational policies, which tend towards binary distinctions of movers versus non‐movers. However, it is crucial to understand the vulnerabilities and outcomes associated with different mobility types, including to inform more effective and efficient targeting of support. We therefore study the extent, impacts and predictors of a diverse range of school moves during secondary schooling for a cohort of students completing their end‐of‐school examinations in 2018/2019 in England. We highlight a negative association between mobility and achievement for all movement types, however, we find substantial heterogeneity in the strength of their association with student performance and highlight the likelihood of making different types of school moves vary by student characteristics. Therefore, we recommend the wider consideration and examination of diverse mobility features by research and in educational accountability systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: School students who are eligible for reduced or free school meals (FSM) – an indicator of economic disadvantage – have lower academic attainment than their peers. Aims: We investigated whether identity compatibility – the perceived compatibility between one's social identities and the stereotype of a high‐achieving student – contributes to this socioeconomic attainment gap, and whether the association between socioeconomic status and identity compatibility is moderated by school context. Sample: Our sample was 4,629 students aged 15–16 years old across 29 schools in England. Method: We assessed students' perceptions of identity compatibility via self‐report questionnaires 8 months prior to them taking national, standardized exams. Results: Multilevel regression analyses revealed a negative indirect effect from eligibility for FSM to exam results via identity compatibility. These effects existed even while accounting for students' gender and language status, other psychological variables known to predict academic attainment, and their previous exam results. Furthermore, school context moderated the relationship between FSM eligibility and identity compatibility. In line with the identities in context model of educational inequalities, there was a significant negative association between FSM and identity compatibility only for students attending schools in which there was previously a relatively large socioeconomic attainment gap. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the importance of social psychological variables in explaining educational inequalities, and of the local educational context in determining the educational experience of students from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the life and works of John S. Ash, an ornithologist at the University of Durham in Northumberland, England. In 1951, Ash was able to participate a long-term research of partridges, carried out with the late Terence Blank, which resulted in several important papers at the Game Conservancy Trust. Information regarding his personal background, educational achievement and career development is also presented.

RAE ratings have been criticized as biased in favour of universities that are old, in England, large and represented on the panel. We investigate these accusations for the 1996 and 2001 RAE ratings of economics departments using independent rankings from the academic literature as quality controls. We find RAE ratings to be largely in agreement with the profession's view of research quality as documented by independent rankings, although the latter appear to be more focused on research quality at the top end of academic achievement. Accusations of bias find no support in the data, except for panel membership in 1996. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the extent to which social support can have a buffering effect against the potentially adverse consequences of bullying on school achievement and mental health. It uses a representative multiethnic sample of adolescents attending East London secondary schools in three boroughs. Bullied adolescents were less likely to achieve the appropriate academic achievement benchmark for their age group and bullied boys (but not girls) were more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms compared to those not bullied. High levels of social support from family were important in promoting good mental health. There was evidence that high levels of support from friends and moderate (but not high) family support was able to protect bullied adolescents from poor academic achievement. Support from friends and family was not sufficient to protect adolescents against mental health difficulties that they might face as a result of being bullied. More active intervention from schools is recommended. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Assesses the social impact of tiering and examination systems on gender by focusing on 14 year-old students in England. Framework of national assessment across the four key stages of the English national curriculum; Implications for the use of tiered levels of entry in the national curriculum assessment system; Evidence of gender inequality in tiering practices and misrepresentation of student achievement.

The motivation for this article was the main finding of an earlier study, which concludes that choice‐driven education systems—in the study represented by England and Sweden—are particularly beneficial for immigrants in that they provide them with many opportunities to pursue their generally high educational ambitions. We extend this analysis by including two countries with performance‐driven education systems: Germany and the Netherlands. Our study specifically aims to explore whether it is true that choice‐driven systems are more beneficial for immigrants or whether immigrants can also succeed in more stratified and selective education systems. Using longitudinal data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU), we show that there are no differences in (gross) transition rates between immigrants and natives in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, but immigrants' optimistic choices are more pronounced in England. However, these differences diminish once we account for achievement and students' socioeconomic background in the analyses. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, we find that educational aspirations have an (equally) strong, universal impact, while anticipated discrimination plays a minor role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In England, all state‐funded schools are inspected by an independent government agency, the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted). Inspections aim to hold schools accountable and to promote the improvement of education, with the results made available to the public. Ofsted reports intend to index school quality, but their influence on students' individual outcomes has not been previously studied. The aim of the current study was to explore the extent to which school quality, as indexed by Ofsted ratings, is associated with students' educational achievement, well‐being and school engagement. Methods: We use an England population‐based sample of 4,391 individuals, for whom school performance at age 11 and GCSE grades at age 16 were accessed from the National Pupil Database, and who completed measures of well‐being and school engagement at age 16. Results: We found that Ofsted ratings of secondary school quality accounted for 4% of the variance in students' educational achievement at age 16, which was further reduced to 1% of the variance after we accounted for prior school performance at age 11 and family socioeconomic status. Furthermore, Ofsted ratings were weak predictors of school engagement and student well‐being, with an average correlation of.03. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that differences in school quality, as indexed by Ofsted ratings, have little relation to students' individual outcomes. Accordingly, our results challenge the usefulness of Ofsted ratings as guides for parents and students when choosing secondary schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports a 3‐year case study of a primary school in England, in which a recently appointed principal attempted to build 'collegial professional autonomy' (Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 2, 2015, 20) within a push to improve students' progress and attainment. The research examined the tensions between staff who embraced the principal's agenda for collegially agreed change, and whose students' academic progress and performance improved over a 3‐year consecutive period when measured in terms of students' entry‐level attainment and socio‐economic factors, and staff who asserted their right to 'individual professional autonomy' and whose students' academic progress and attainment declined. The research: (i) challenges claims that reform necessarily results in school cultures of compliancy, de‐professionalisation and the technicisation of teaching; (ii) raises issues concerning the pedagogical leadership of principals in a devolved, 'self‐governing' school system; and (iii) questions teachers' entitlements to individual professional autonomy where this is associated with students' continuing academic underperformance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2004 and 2012, there had been a significant rise in so‐called 'equivalent' qualifications taken by young people in England in the final years of their compulsory schooling. These were qualifications other than GCSEs that were approved for young people under the age of 16 under Section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. This rise was checked by the Wolf review of vocational education, which led to wholesale changes in the set of qualifications that schools offered to pupils, and which primarily affected lower‐attaining students. We quantify the impact of this reform on these pupils with respect to the qualifications they entered and what they achieved. We do so by comparison to previous national cohorts of pupils unaffected by the reform, including the estimation of counterfactual outcomes for the group of pupils most likely to be affected. These pupils tended to enter fewer qualifications overall after the reform than their predecessors, but with a higher fraction of GCSEs. Age‐16 attainment fell, with a lower percentage achieving level 2 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). This finding is repeated in the post‐16 outcome measures, which were stable throughout this period. There is no evidence from the attainment data that these reforms helped low‐attaining pupils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, USA and elsewhere, school accountability systems increasingly compare schools using value‐added measures of school performance derived from pupil scores in high‐stakes standardised tests. Rather than naïvely comparing school average scores, which largely reflect school intake differences in prior attainment, these measures attempt to compare the average progress or improvement pupils make during a year or phase of schooling. Schools, however, also differ in terms of their pupil demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and these factors also predict why some schools subsequently score higher than others. Many therefore argue that value‐added measures unadjusted for pupil background are biased in favour of schools with more 'educationally advantaged' intakes. But others worry that adjusting for pupil background entrenches socioeconomic inequities and excuses low‐performing schools. In this article we explore these theoretical arguments and their practical importance in the context of the 'Progress 8' secondary school accountability system in England, which has chosen to ignore pupil background. We reveal how the reported low or high performance of many schools changes dramatically once adjustments are made for pupil background, and these changes also affect the reported differential performances of regions and of different school types. We conclude that accountability systems which choose to ignore pupil background are likely to reward and punish the wrong schools and this will likely have detrimental effects on pupil learning. These findings, especially when coupled with more general concerns surrounding high‐stakes testing and school value‐added models, raise serious doubts about their use in school accountability systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Developmental language disorder (DLD) presents a considerable barrier for young adults to engage in further education and training. Early studies with young adults with DLD revealed poor educational achievement and lack of opportunities to progress in education. More recent studies have provided more positive findings. Relatively sparse data exist, however, on current cohorts and the factors that predict outcomes. Aims: To examine educational and employment outcomes in young adulthood in a sample of people with histories of DLD compared with an age‐matched peer group without DLD. We ask: How do educational pathways and early jobs compare between those with and without DLD? Are young adults with DLD receiving similar levels of income as their peers? To what extent are language and literacy abilities associated with outcomes? Methods & Procedures: Participants included 84 individuals with DLD (67% males) and 88 age‐matched peers without DLD (56% males). Participants were on average 24 years of age. They completed a battery of psycholinguistic, literacy and nonverbal skills assessments. Data were also collected on educational qualifications, current educational status, extent of educational support received, employment status, history and support, as well as current income. Outcomes & Results: Those with DLD obtained lower academic and vocational qualifications. Higher educational/vocational qualifications were associated with better language, better reading and higher performance IQ (PIQ). There were few differences between the two groups in terms of engagement with education, but the mean age at leaving education was significantly earlier in the participants with DLD. Substantially more participants with DLD reported receiving support or dispensation from their educational institution. There was no significant difference between groups in the proportion of young people currently employed, though a higher proportion of the age‐matched peers was in work full time. Participants with DLD were much more likely to be in non‐professional occupations. However, when examining pay in relation to types of occupation, the groups’ incomes were broadly comparable. Conclusions & Implications: At the group level, young people with a history of DLD more commonly have less skilled employment and more rarely achieve professional roles. At the individual level there is considerable variation with smaller but not trivial proportions of young adults with a history of DLD showing good educational and employment outcomes. There are positive aspects to early adult outcomes for some young people with a history of DLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Well-documented associations exist between socio-economic background and language ability in early childhood, and between educational attainment and language ability in children with clinically referred language impairment. However, very little research has looked at the associations between language ability, educational attainment and socio-economic background during adolescence, particularly in populations without language impairment. Aims To investigate: (1) whether adolescents with higher educational outcomes overall had higher language abilities; and (2) associations between adolescent language ability, socio-economic background and educational outcomes, specifically in relation to Mathematics, English Language and English Literature GCSE grade. Method & Procedures A total of 151 participants completed five standardized language assessments measuring vocabulary, comprehension of sentences and spoken paragraphs, and narrative skills and one nonverbal assessment when between 13 and 14 years old. These data were compared with the participants' educational achievement obtained upon leaving secondary education (16 years old). Univariate logistic regressions were employed to identify those language assessments and demographic factors that were associated with achieving a targeted A*-C grade in English Language, English Literature and Mathematics General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) at 16 years. Further logistic regressions were then conducted to examine further the contribution of socio-economic background and spoken language skills in the multivariate models. Results & Outcomes Vocabulary, comprehension of sentences and spoken paragraphs, and mean length utterance in a narrative task along with socio-economic background contributed to whether participants achieved an A*-C grade in GCSE Mathematics and English Language and English Literature. Nonverbal ability contributed to English Language and Mathematics. The results of multivariate logistic regressions then found that vocabulary skills were particularly relevant to all three GCSE outcomes. Socio-economic background only remained important for English Language, once language assessment scores and demographic information were considered. Conclusions & Implications Language ability, and in particular vocabulary, plays an important role for educational achievement. Results confirm a need for ongoing support for spoken language ability throughout secondary education and a potential role for speech and language therapy provision in the continuing drive to reduce the gap in educational attainment between groups from differing socio-economic backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusivity of all children in education and within educational settings is an important value and goal. Yet, where settings and practices are not oriented for inclusivity and engagement, some children can struggle with academic tasks and are often marginalised and exhibit disruptive behaviours. The study reported here addresses the social nature of school as a community for learning through a mixed-methods concurrent triangulation evaluation of the implementation of the Good Behaviour Game (GBG) in six primary (elementary) schools with 10 classes and 222 children in Oxfordshire, England. The Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptations - Revised (TOCA-R) was administered in individual interviews with class teachers. Additionally, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers, coaches and head teachers ( n = 22). In a pre-post design, improvements in child adaptation were observed on all TOCA-R subscales. In an integrative analysis that brought together quantitative and qualitative findings, pupil improvement was identified in three major areas: inclusion and social participation, behaviour, and concentration. Interview results also highlighted the substantial practical challenges associated with implementing and using the GBG in schools in the UK. Overall, the results of this study support the idea that social relationships within the school community, between pupils and between pupils and teachers, provide an important context for learning and social development. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To investigate the relationship between cannabis and tobacco use by age 15 and subsequent educational outcomes. Design Birth cohort study. Setting England. Participants The sample was drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children; a core sample of 1155 individuals had complete information on all the variables. Measurements The main exposures were cannabis and tobacco use at age 15 assessed in clinic by computer-assisted questionnaire and serum cotinine. The main outcomes were performance in standardized assessments at 16 [Key Stage 4, General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)] in English and mathematics (mean scores), completion of five or more assessments at grade C level or higher and leaving school having achieved no qualifications. Analyses were sequentially adjusted for multiple covariates using a hierarchical approach. Covariates considered were: maternal substance use (ever tobacco or cannabis use, alcohol use above recommended limits); life course socio-economic position (family occupational class, maternal education, family income); child sex; month and year of birth; child educational attainment prior to age 11 (Key Stage 2); child substance use (tobacco, alcohol and cannabis) prior to age 15 and child conduct disorder. Findings In fully adjusted models both cannabis and tobacco use at age 15 were associated with subsequent adverse educational outcomes. In general, the dose-response effect seen was consistent across all educational outcomes assessed. Weekly cannabis use was associated negatively with English GCSE results [grade point difference (GPD), -5.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -8.34, -3.53] and with mathematics GCSE results (GPD, -6.91, 95% CI = -9.92, -3.89). Daily tobacco smoking was associated negatively with English GCSE (GPD, -11.90, 95% CI = -13.47, -10.33) and with mathematics GCSE (GPD, -16.72, 95% CI = -18.57, -14.86). The greatest attenuation of these effects was seen on adjustment for other substance use and conduct disorder. Following adjustment, tobacco appeared to have a consistently stronger effect than cannabis. Conclusions Both cannabis and tobacco use in adolescence are associated strongly with subsequent adverse educational outcomes. Given the non-specific patterns of association seen and the attenuation of estimates on adjustment, it is possible that these effects arise through non-causal mechanisms, although a causal explanation cannot be discounted. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In general, children with specific language impairment (SLI) tend to fall behind their typically developing (TD) peers in educational attainment. Less is known about how children with SLI fare in particular areas of the curriculum and what predicts their levels of performance. Aims To compare the distributions of performance of children with SLI in three core school subjects (English, Mathematics and Science); to test the possibility that performance would vary across the core subjects; and to examine the extent to which language impairment predicts performance. Methods & Procedures This study was conducted in England and reports historical data on educational attainments. Teacher assessment and test scores of 176 eleven-year-old children with SLI were examined in the three core subjects and compared with known national norms. Possible predictors of performance were measured, including language ability at ages 7 and 11, educational placement type, and performance IQ. Outcomes & Results Children with SLI, compared with national norms, were found to be at a disadvantage in core school subjects. Nevertheless, some children attained the levels expected of TD peers. Performance was poorest in English; relative strengths were indicated in Science and, to a lesser extent, in Mathematics. Language skills were significant predictors of performance in all three core subjects. PIQ was the strongest predictor for Mathematics. For Science, both early language skills at 7 years and PIQ made significant contributions. Conclusions & Implications Language impacts on the school performance of children with SLI, but differentially across subjects. English for these children is the most challenging of the core subjects, reflecting the high levels of language demand it incurs. Science is an area of relative strength and mathematics appears to be intermediate, arguably because some tasks in these subjects can be performed with less reliance on verbal processing. Many children with SLI do have the potential to reach or exceed educational targets that are set at national levels for TD children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context Peer-assisted learning ( PAL) is recognised as an effective learning tool and its benefits are well documented in a range of educational settings. Learners find it enjoyable and their performances in assessments are comparable with those of students taught by faculty tutors. In addition, PAL tutors themselves report the development of improved clinical skills and confidence through tutoring. However, whether tutoring leads to actual improvement in performance has not been fully investigated. Objectives As high-achieving students are already en route to succeeding in final examinations, we wanted to examine whether participation in a peer-tutoring programme in itself leads to better final-year examination performance. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of results on final-year written and clinical examinations at University College London Medical School during 2010-2012. Z-scores were calculated and the performances of PAL tutors and students who were not PAL tutors were compared using analysis of covariance (ancova). Year 4 examination results were used as indicators of previous academic attainment. Results Of the 1050 students who attempted the final examination, 172 were PAL tutors in the final year. Students who acted as PAL tutors outperformed students who did not in all examination components by 1-3%. Z-scores differed by approximately 0.2 and this was statistically significant, although the significance of this difference diminished when controlling for Year 4 results. Students who acted as PAL tutors who had scored in the top quartile in Year 4 examinations scored significantly better in a long-station objective structured clinical examination ( LSO). Conclusions Although students who acted as PAL tutors performed better than students who did not in final-year examinations, this difference was small and attributable to the students' background academic abilities. High-achieving students appear to be self-selecting as peer-tutors and their enhanced performance in LSOs may reflect their inherent academic abilities. Although peer-tutoring in itself did not lead to enhanced examination performance, further studies are required as many factors, such as the proximity of examinations and previous tutoring, can potentially affect the relationship between peer-tutoring experience and examination performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim was to investigate whether the duration of breastfeeding, at all or exclusively, is associated with educational achievement at age 5. We used data from a prospective, population-based UK cohort study, the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). 5489 children from White ethnic background born at term in 2000-2001, attending school in England in 2006, were included in our analyses. Educational achievement was measured using the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP), a statutory assessment undertaken by teachers at the end of the child's first school year. Breastfeeding duration was ascertained from interviews with the mother when the child was 9 months old. We used modified Poisson's regression to model the association of breastfeeding duration with having reached a good level of achievement overall (≥78 overall points and ≥6 in 'personal, social and emotional development' and 'communication, language and literacy' points) and in specific areas (≥6 points) of development. Children who had been breastfed for up to 2 months were more likely to have reached a good level of overall achievement [adjusted rate ratio (RR): 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 1.19] than never breastfed children. This association was more marked in children breastfed for 2-4 months (adjusted RR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.29) and in those breastfed for longer than 4 months (adjusted RR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.26). The associations of exclusive breastfeeding with the educational achievement were similar. Our findings suggest that longer duration of breastfeeding, at all or exclusively, is associated with better educational achievement at age 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Entry to speech and language therapy (SLT) undergraduate pre-registration programmes in the UK is usually achieved through qualifications attained at school (e.g. A-levels). A smaller number of people who did not succeed academically at school enter through qualifications achieved post-schooling, e.g. Access to Higher Education courses. This second group of students are attractive recruits to SLT training programmes as they bring different experiences and backgrounds to the programme and to the SLT profession. However, there are no published studies that explore the academic performance or degree and employment outcomes of students who enter university through this route. Aims To investigate the success of non-traditional entry students, specifically those with Access qualifications, on one pre-registration SLT undergraduate degree at a university in the UK. Success is measured in terms of module results, obtaining a degree, the ability to register as an SLT and first employment destination post-graduation. Methods & Procedures University applications were reviewed and students who entered via an Access course were identified for a ten-year period. Results for modules, individual assessments and final degree classification were obtained from their files and were compared against the mean score of traditional entry students on the years of the course covered by this study using a series of one sample t-tests. Outcomes & Results The students who entered through the non-traditional academic route are generally successful in completing their degree and in registering to work as an SLT. However, as a group they perform less well on the degree overall, on individual modules and on written examinations and they do not close this performance gap over the four years of the degree. In contrast, however, they perform on a par with their peers on other types of assessment (e.g. clinical placement, case study, data exercise). The Access students were more likely than traditional entry students to be working as an SLT six-months post-qualification. Conclusions & Implications These results suggest that some types of assessment may be more effective at tapping the skills of students from non-traditional academic backgrounds, and that more tailored support could be provided for this group of students in tackling university written examinations throughout all years of the programme. Despite limited preparation for university-level study and mixed performance on assessment, students from non-traditional academic backgrounds can do well at university and successfully gain employment as SLTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years there has been an unprecedented increase in support staff in schools in England and Wales. There were widespread expectations that this will be of benefit to teachers and pupils but there has been little systematic research to address the impact of support staff. This study used a naturalistic longitudinal design to investigate the relationship between the amount of support (measured by teacher estimates and systematic observation) and pupils' 'Positive Approaches to Learning' (PAL) and academic progress. There were over 8000 pupils across two cohorts and seven age groups. Results on PAL were not straightforward by there was a consistent trend for those with most support to make less academic progress than similar pupils with less support, and this was not explained by characteristics of the pupils such as piror attainment or level of special educational need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with pragmatic language impairment (CwPLI) are characterized by difficulties with the interpersonal use of language in social contexts and they possess a range of language difficulties that affect their educational attainment. Since literacy skills are central to this attainment, one way of identifying appropriate support needs for CwPLI would be to profile their reading and writing skills as a group. Aims: To investigate the word reading, non-word reading, reading comprehension, and written expression skills of CwPLI and a comparison group of children with specific language impairment (CwSLI). CwSLI were recruited in order to examine any overlaps in literacy impairments for the two groups. Methods & Procedures: Primary school-aged CwPLI ( n= 59) and CwSLI ( n= 12) were recruited from speech and language therapists. Children completed standardized assessments of literacy skills. The level of impairment for each component literacy skill was examined for CwPLI and CwSLI. Outcomes & Results: For the CwPLI, group mean scores on each of the literacy skills were at the lower end of the normal range compared with population norms. The range of individual scores was large, with some children scoring near floor level and others scoring up to 2 SDs (standard deviations) above the mean, illustrating the heterogeneity of literacy skills within the group. For the CwSLI, group mean scores on each of the literacy skills were between 1 SD and 2 SDs below the population mean. CwSLI were significantly more impaired on all of the literacy measures compared with CwPLI. This difference remained even when receptive language ability and non-verbal intelligence were controlled for. Conclusions & Implications: The results demonstrate that there is a high level of literacy impairment within CwPLI and CwSLI, providing evidence that individualized literacy skill intervention is important for the long-term academic outcome of these children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing numbers of children with behaviour and school problems (related to both academic achievement and social participation) are recognized as having undiagnosed speech, language and communication difficulties. Both speech, language and communication difficulties and school failure are risk factors for offending. Aims: To investigate the prevalence of speech, language and communication difficulties in a group of persistent and prolific young offenders sentenced to the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP), and to provide a preliminary evaluation of the impact of speech and language therapy (SLT) intervention. Methods & Procedures: Seventy-two entrants to ISSP over 12 months were screened by the speech and language therapist. Those showing difficulties then had a detailed language assessment followed by intervention delivered jointly by the speech and language therapist and the youth offending team staff. Reassessment occurred at programme completion. Outcomes & Results: A total of 65% of those screened had profiles indicating that they had language difficulties and might benefit from speech and language therapy intervention. As a cohort, their language skills were lower than those of the general population, and 20% scored at the 'severely delayed' level on standardized assessment. This is the first study of speech and language therapy within community services for young offenders, and is the first to demonstrate language improvement detectable on standardized language tests. However, further research is needed to determine the precise role of speech and language therapy within the intervention programme. Conclusions & Implications: Children and young people with behavioural or school difficulties coming into contact with criminal justice, mental health, psychiatric, and social care services need to be systematically assessed for undiagnosed speech, language and communication difficulties. Appropriate interventions can then enable the young person to engage with verbally mediated interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students with dyslexia often experience low self-esteem and, linked with this, low academic achievement. Our research, commissioned by the Higher Education Academy, was carried out by academics in two universities, one in the south-west of England and one in the north-west, over 2009-2010. It set out to address 'transitions and questions of 'access' to higher education for students with identified disabilities'. While we accessed interesting material in this area we were also impressed by the wealth of material provided by our respondents with dyslexia on their school experiences, in particular factors that had impacted on their self-esteem and academic achievement. Thus this article, while not an intended outcome from our work on matters of transition to higher education, emerges as a story telling a rich and illuminating tale of student success and failure and lifting the curtain on factors impacting on self-esteem and academic achievement for students with dyslexia at school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are at risk of low self-esteem during their school years. However, there is a lack of evidence of the self-esteem of young people with a history of SLI during adolescence, as they transfer from compulsory schooling to post-compulsory education, employment or training. Aims: To examine the self-esteem of young people with a history of SLI at the transition from compulsory education (16 years) to the first year of post-compulsory education, employment and training (17 years) in England. Methods & Procedures: A total of 54 young people identified as having SLI at 8 years were followed up at 16 and at 17 years. The young people completed two measures of self-esteem: the Self-perception Profile for Adolescents (16 years) and the Self-perception Profile for College Students (17 years). Assessments of language, literacy and non-verbal ability were also conducted. Outcomes & Results: Perceptions of scholastic competence were significantly lower than the norm at 16 years; the female students also had lower self-esteem in the social and physical appearance domains and global self-worth. However, at 17 years there were no significant differences from the norm for these self-esteem domains. There was evidence of stability within self-esteem domains over this period but also an improvement in self-perceptions of scholastic and job competence, physical appearance and athletic competence, and also global self-worth, but not the three social domains. Non-verbal cognitive ability was not correlated with any measures of self-esteem, at 16 or 17 years. Language and literacy ability, especially spelling, were correlated with scholastic and job competence at 16 years but only spelling correlated at 17 years. Conclusions & Implications: This study has provided evidence for improvements in self-esteem for young people with SLI after they leave school and enter the world of non-compulsory education (typically at a college), employment and training. The study has also indicated the importance of addressing self-esteem as a multi-dimensional construct and the consequent necessity to use instruments that assess different domains of self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family income is an important factor associated with children's educational achievement. However, key areas of UK research (for example, on socially segregated schooling) and policy (for example, the allocation of funding to schools) rely on children's free school meal (FSM) 'eligibility' to proxy family income. This article examines the relationship between children's FSM 'eligibility' and equivalent net household income in a nationally representative survey of England (the Family Resources Survey). It finds that children 'eligible' for FSM are much more likely than other children to be in the lowest income households. However, only around one-quarter to one-half of them were in the lowest income households in 2004/5. This is principally because the receipt of means-tested benefits (and tax credits) pushes children eligible for FSM up the household income distribution. The implications for key areas of research and policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the lived experience of practising academics as part of an inquiry into the vexed question of 'academic identities'. Identity is understood not as a fixed property, but as part of the lived complexity of a person's project. The article reports on data from a small study in one university. The data suggest that academic identity is complex and that, moreover, it cannot be read off from descriptions of teaching, research, or management roles. Respondents in all roles were able to maintain highly distinctive, strongly framed academic identities. Experiences of class, gender and the significance of family are reported as having continued salience in respondents' lives. Moreover, despite all the pressure of performativity, individuals created spaces for the exercise of principled personal autonomy and agency. The article concludes that paying detailed attention to how changes are being experienced is an important element in theorising trends in the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical child welfare research in England takes insufficient account of wider social theory. Intellectual, professional and political reasons for this are discussed. The implications are considered in relation to one important social problem: the low educational achievement of children looked after by local authorities (‘in care’). It is concluded that the absence of a broader sociological perspective has led to insufficient and simplistic explanations from researchers and policy-makers of low achievement among looked-after pupils. It is unwise to rely on official statistics on educational outcome indicators for looked-after pupils. Previous conceptualization of poor educational performance has been inadequate, and we should refer to low achievement, not ‘underachievement’. The socio-economic risk factors that are linked with family breakdown and admission to care also predict low educational achievement, such as social class and poverty. Social mobility and transition to adulthood are increasingly problematic in England, making it difficult for care leavers to improve their social position. Parental maltreatment is strongly linked with educational failure. Other countries may do no better than England does. Thus, it is by no means obvious that the care system necessarily jeopardizes looked-after children’s education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article revisits the important issue raised by Peter Tymms where he challenges the official government reports of an impressive rise in standards in mathematics and English in primary schools in England since 1995, suggesting that the rise in scores, particularly since 2000, does not indicate rising standards. In order to substantiate its claim the Government has repeatedly referred to the results of an international study which put England in the top three of the 35 participating countries for achievement in reading, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (2001). Firstly, the nature of an international comparison which uses a single indicator of achievement is critically examined in terms of the fair comparison and resulting commensurability of very different national school populations. Here issues of cultural bias are raised in relation to the unidimensionality of the reading test items and the contrasting wealth, representational sizes, and varied geographic dispersals of the target populations. Secondly, the PIRLS study is analysed for its potential for linguistic bias. Finally, the PIRLS data for England are examined, where it is shown, in comparison with other countries, the sampling and the test itself to have been advantageously organised. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the validity of known results with regard to the testing of English primary-aged children in literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavily influenced by Putnam's particular variant of social capital theory, the New Labour government in the UK has introduced several initiatives designed to raise educational achievement by building the social capital of families identified as socially excluded. One such initiative was the Education Action Zones (EAZ) policy. Whilst this policy has recently been eclipsed by other initiatives designed to enhance education in areas of disadvantage, many of the social capital–building components of EAZs have now become relatively widespread in schools in disadvantaged areas. In this article the authors use qualitative data from a study of EAZs to explore how parents experience initiatives designed to build their social capital and to examine the interactions between parents' values and the values implicit in these initiatives. In doing so, they identify and elucidate some key limitations of current attempts to operationalise social capital theory. The analysis offered in the article thus has significant implications for policy and policy scholarship. In particular, it draws attention to the need for policy makers and practitioners concerned with challenging social exclusion to pay closer attention to the real, as opposed to imagined, local sociocultural environments within which policies are implemented and to the voices, choices and values of the people these policies are designed to help. In so doing, the article also underlines the importance of policy analysts attending to these same complexities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of ability grouping is frequently justified on the grounds that it is an effective means of raising attainment. Little large-scale quantitative research has been undertaken since the introduction of the National Curriculum in England and Wales. The aim of this article is to examine the effects of setting on students' achievement in English, mathematics and science General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations. Data were collected from a cohort of over 6000 Year 9 students in 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools who were followed up in Year 11 when they sat GCSE examinations. Multilevel modelling was used to estimate the effect of setting on GCSE attainment, taking account of prior attainment, social disadvantage, gender and attendance. There were no significant effects of setting in English, mathematics or science. Effects on higher and lower attaining students were not consistent in the three subjects. Socially disadvantaged students achieved significantly lower grades and girls achieved higher grades than boys, especially in English. In all three subjects, students of similar ability achieved higher GCSE grades when they were placed in higher sets. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the educational background and achievements of optometrist Geoff Woodward in England. It provides details on the history that led Woodward to study in a college of optometry, citing as well his development and success in the field of optometry. It also highlights the professional accomplishments of Woodward in his career as a professor and an optometrist, focusing his promotion as Clinical Optometry and Visual Science professor at the City University in London.

The attributes of 721 medical students admitted to the United Medical and Dental Schools (UMDS) of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals, London, UK between the years 1991 and 1994 were examined to determine the relationship between A-level grade predictions (as completed on each student's UCAS form by their school/college at the time of their application to the school) and subsequent assessments of their academic ability and performance. Predicted A-level grades were found to be significantly, if weakly, correlated with the rating of academic ability made at interview by the UMDS interviewing panel. They were not however, related to the grades obtained by students in the A-level examination itself. Further, while success at pre-clinical examinations was predicted by obtained A-level grades, it showed no relationship with the predicted grades. In contrast, the interview-based rating of the applicant's academic potential was significantly predictive of subsequent A level and, to a lesser extent, pre-clinical examination performance. It is concluded that predicted A-level grades may not offer a valid method of assessing the academic potential of applicants for medical school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses findings of the study "Primary Schools in England," relating to mixed age classes of primary school students. When school grouping practices were related to achievement and a rating of the match between tasks set and the capacities of students to undertake them, the findings lent little support to mixed age classes. Nine and 11-year-old children in single age classes achieved higher scores than those in mixed age classes on standardized tests. The assessments of match in single age classes showed a definite superiority in relating the difficulty of the work to children's capabilities at all ability levels.

A recent re-analysis of a large data base relating to 'O' level achievement in England is revealing significant school effects which could not have been disclosed by the more conventional procedure of multiple regression analysis. These effects are due to strong interaction between variables and they present schools characteristics not so much as factors which elevate or depress achievement but as agents which aggregate or disperse achievement scores about the group mean. This implies that school process is uniquely and strongly associated with enhanced achievement among certain well-defined subsets of pupils but that grouping within schools is such as to nullify any overall effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on ways of assessing schooling and educational outcomes in the 19th century England. Arguments over the use of given methods is a matter of controversy. They involved different priorities in what are to count as valued outcomes of schooling. Official definitions of successful outcomes are often in terms of individual pupils' reproduction of knowledge at given points in their school career. The individual written examination was a controversial technique for assessing educational outcomes. The rise of public examinations can be understood in terms of functional selection, educational expediency or social regulation. It equates the spread of examinations with a spread of meritocratic selection of people for particular social purposes. Another interpretation stresses that examinations codify the beliefs of particular groups and reflect an aim of these groups to produce or reproduce particular social relations. The interest in individual children and the instigation of the notion that schooling can be understood in terms of opportunity were the pre-conditions for the emergence of individual achievement as a subject of official concern within education in Scotland.

The article presents a study that investigates the scientific attitudes and interests among fifth form secondary school pupils in England who had participated in the Nuffield Science Teaching Project and were taking Ordinary level examination of the General Certificate of Education. The study found many drawbacks in the project including failure of its trial materials to achieve affective objectives, tendency of participants to become hypercritical to generally accepted scientific facts, overemphasis on the use of direct experience in problem-solving, and ineffectuality in overcoming the low correlation between interest in the content of science subjects and interest in the history of science. But over-all, the project was able to improve the scientific thinking of both boys and girls.