Fallback in attainment on transfer at age 11: evidence from the Summer Literacy Schools evaluation

Summary

Summer Literacy Schools were introduced as a pilot scheme by the Government in the summer of 1997 in an attempt to improve children's literacy skills at the age of 11, the time of transfer from primary to secondary education. The initiative was evaluated by collecting the pupils’ results from the national test taken in May and comparing these with results of a similar test administered in September. Results for a control group who had not attended summer schools were also analysed. The analysis revealed that the scores of both groups declined significantly between the pre‐test and the post‐test, and no significant difference in the extent of the decline was found between the summer school pupils and the control group. Further research is needed on the possibility that the transition from primary to secondary school is associated generally with a significant decline in attainment.

Keywords:

• reading
• assessment
• summer programme
• summer vacations
• primary‐secondary transfer
• curriculum continuity