| Targeting Underachievement In Literacy
Identification
It is essential to identify students who are underachieving in literacy, to note their particular difficulties, to find those whose problems require closer analysis, and those who should carry highest priority.
Crudely perhaps, pupils who arrive in Y7 and missed the national target of level 4 in English at Key Stage 2 are generally classified as underachievers. However, to address underachievement adequately, a finer mesh is needed. Schools that use screening tests (NFER, MIDYIS etc.) possess valuable data; however, it is rarely used to pin-point underachievement fully, or address it comprehensively. Appropriately analysed, such test results will readily show, not only which pupils are underachieving, but what proportion of a new entry needs help.
For example, pupils whose reading test or English results, are significantly (typically one standard deviation or more), below their own results on a test of general ability have underachieved in literacy. Similarly, if an individual’s, and especially a whole cohort’s results in mathematics are significantly above their literacy test results, it is probable that underachievement, and cultural factors are both in play for literacy.
In disadvantaged catchments, the majority of a new entry may arrive as underachievers in literacy. An accurate baseline is essential for a school’s overall action strategy - especially for raising expectations - and for the English and special needs teams.
Managing
Managing does not mean coping, or living with literacy problems, but making measurable improvements. Perhaps the clearest message from schools that have succeeded against the odds (as in the BSA surveys) is that the most successful strategies comprise interlocking interventions, sustained with school-wide commitment, not single or short term initiatives. Typically, such strategies have involved systematic approaches to:
- reading
- writing
- spelling
- and wider reaching strategies for
- literacy across the curriculum (including speaking and listening)
- the involvement of parents.
 
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