Today, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has published independent evaluations of five projects, bringing the total number of complete EEF-funded projects to date to 151.
Lexia Reading Core5® (Lexia) is a computer-based learning system that aims to improve children’s reading skills, developed by Lexia Learning Systems LLC. It consists of three elements: personalised online student activities, real-time reporting of student progress, and paper-based resources to guide teacher instruction.
This project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Lexia in improving the reading ability of struggling readers in Year 2 (children aged 6 – 7). 697 pupils in 57 schools across Northeast, Wiltshire, Lancashire, London, and Yorkshire and Humber participated in the trial, conducted by The York Trials Unit.
The evaluation found that children who received Lexia made the equivalent of two additional months’ progress in reading, on average, compared to other children.The full evaluation report, together with the EEF’s commentary on the findings, is available here.
The Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants (MITA) programme is a whole-school intervention that aims to improve pupil outcomes by adapting the way in which teaching assistants (TAs) are deployed in the classroom. Developed by the University College London Institute of Education with support from the London Leadership Strategy, the intervention is designed to improve TAs preparedness for lessons and the quality of their interactions with pupils.
The programme was delivered in 128 primary schools to 12,598 pupils across England. The evaluation, undertaken by RAND, used reading outcomes of Year 3 and 6 children to assess its effectiveness and found no evidence of impact.
There was some evidence from a sub-sample of schools of a positive impact in terms of pupil engagement. Analyses of data collected from 2,338 pupils using a validated measure of engagement with learning, found that those in MITA schools were more engaged than those in control schools.The full evaluation report, together with the EEF’s commentary on the findings, is available here.
The 5Rs programme aims to enhance the support teachers give to 16 – 19 year-old students resitting GCSE maths. The programme includes a scheme of work, with lesson plans structured around the 5Rs: Recall (recalling key maths facts), Routine (completing practice questions), Revise (revising one specific topic), Repeat (practising exam questions), and Ready (focusing on exam technique).
The 5Rs programme was delivered in 88 colleges and schools with an estimated 4,486 students. However, due to school and college closures during the pandemic and the associated changes to the GCSE assessment process, this evaluation could not estimate the impact of the programme on pupil attainment.
The 5Rs programme was developed by Julia Smith and delivered with the support of the Association of Colleges. The evaluation, which was conducted by the University of York, took place from March 2019 to July 2020 and was co-funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.The full evaluation report, together with the EEF’s commentary on the findings, is available here.
Generation STEM (Gen STEM) is a work experience placement intervention for Year 10 students which is designed to develop students’ life skills and interest in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). By increasing students’ ability to see the relevance of schoolwork to their future careers and motivation to engage in school, the programme also aims to raise students’ attainment in mathematics and science.
This programme was delivered by CSW Group in partnership with Graphic Science and STEM NOW, and was co-funded by the Careers and Enterprise Company and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The efficacy trial was conducted in 113 schools with 1,665 students. The evaluation, conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), found no evidence of impact.
The full evaluation report, together with the EEF’s commentary on the findings, is available here.
The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) aims to provide free, nutritious breakfasts in primary and secondary schools in disadvantaged areas of England. The programme was funded by the Department of Education for an initial two-year period beginning in 2018, and co-led by two charities, Family Action and Magic Breakfast.
The NSBP supported breakfast provision in 1,811 schools in England, delivered through one of several models, including a traditional sit-down breakfast club in the school hall or canteen; a healthy ‘grab and go’ breakfast, usually provided in the playground or school entrance; or classroom breakfast, which could be a ‘soft start’ where classrooms opened early for breakfast.
The objective of this evaluation, conducted by Behavioural Insights, was to assess programme changes made as part of the scale-up process, the costs of the programme and lessons for future scale-up efforts. It did not provide insights into whether the NSBP improved attainment outcomes.The full evaluation report, together with the EEF’s commentary on the findings, is available here.