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Calderdale 1 – Calderdale Excellence Partnership’s Improving Writing Quality programme: a cluster randomised controlled trial

We undertook a randomised controlled trial to evaluate Improving Writing Quality compared to ‘business as usual’ on the writing skills of pupils over the transition period from primary to secondary school. The intervention had a large positive impact on writing outcomes, equivalent to pupils making approximately nine months’ additional progress.

Why did we do this research?

In 2013 approximately 85,000 pupils left primary school without having attained Level 4 or above in writing: a substantial minority of these pupils do not make the expected level of progress in secondary school. Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is a writing process model in which students are encouraged to plan, draft, edit and revise their writing. Trials in North America were promising, but evidence of effectiveness in the UK setting was needed.

What did we do?

We undertook a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate Improving Writing Quality compared to ‘business as usual’ on the writing skills of pupils over the transition period from primary to secondary school. The intervention provides memorable experiences for participating pupils and includes professional development for teachers in key elements of the writing intervention SRSD in which students are encouraged to plan, draft, edit and revise their writing. The primary outcome was the Progress in English 11 (Long Form) Test, a measure of general writing ability completed by all participants under exam conditions.

Who was involved?

In this evaluation 23 primary schools and their Year 6 teachers in the Calderdale area of West Yorkshire were randomly allocated to receive training, from an external consultant, in the SRSD approach. Children in the intervention schools were taught following the SRSD approach in the last six weeks of the summer term in Year 6 and in the first term of Year 7 at secondary school.

What did we find?

Overall, the project appeared to have a large positive impact on writing outcomes. The overall effect size was statistically significant, and equivalent to participating pupils making approximately nine months’ additional progress compared to similar pupils who did not participate in the intervention. The approach was also effective for pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM). There was no effect on the secondary outcomes relating to reading, spelling or grammar.

Publications

• Torgerson DJ, Torgerson CJ, Ainsworth H, et al. (2014). Improving Writing Quality: Evaluation report and executive summary. London: EEF. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED581140.pdf