Evaluation of the Two Year Key Stage 3 Project - Communities and ...

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2.3 Case studiesCase study visits were made to eight Project schools (drawn from Phase 1 and 2 schools) involved indelivering a Two Year Key Stage 3, to investigate how the Project contributed to the work of theschool. The one day case study visits involved interviews with 26 teachers (at least three teachers ineach school) and four governors. They were carried out between Autumn 2004 and 2006. Notes weretaken during interviews. At each school a senior manager with oversight of Key Stage 3 wasinterviewed (e.g., headteacher, assistant headteacher or Key Stage 3 manager). The senior manager wasthe initial point of contact and was therefore responsible for selecting the other interviewees. Theywere, however, requested to be a head of department in a subject offering a condensed Key Stage 3course and a class teacher who also taught a condensed subject. It was also requested that the threeteachers should teach different subjects although at two schools this was not possible (the classroomteacher taught the same subject as either the senior manager or head of department).3. IMPLEMENTATION3.1 Diverse strategiesSchools were invited to develop their own strategies for putting a two year Key Stage into effect anddid so in markedly different ways. They were contacted early in the Spring term when their first cohortof Project pupils were in Year 7 in order to identify which pupils were following a condensed KeyStage 3 curriculum in which of 12 National Curriculum subjects 6 and also in which years they wereundertaking that two year programme of study. The wide variation in the ways in which the Project wasimplemented presented difficulties for the evaluation as the extent to which pupils were exposed to theintervention varied and because there were also qualitative differences in the type of intervention.This diversity arose from different decisions as to which subjects should be studied in two years, whichpupils should follow the two year Key Stage and during which two years that programme should bestudied.First, schools were able to choose in which subjects they would offer a two year Key Stage. Thus, someschools offered a two year Key Stage 3 in all subjects while others focused on only some subjects andstill others applied the two year model in only one subject.Second, schools were also able to choose which pupils would follow a two year Key Stage. Again, insome schools it was decided that all pupils would follow the programme of study in two years while atothers only some followed a ‘condensed’ route. In still others the whole cohort would follow a two yearprogramme in some subjects while in another subject only part of the cohort would follow a two yearcourse.Third, schools varied in which years the Key Stage 3 curriculum was taught. Most schools taught acondensed Key Stage 3 curriculum in Year 7 and Year 8, leading on to an early start to GCSE coursesfrom Year 9. Others chose to teach the condensed curriculum during Year 8 and Year 9, making use ofYear 7 to provide a ‘foundation’ year (Such foundation years were generally, though not always,intended to improve the attainment and skills of lower achieving pupils such that they couldsuccessfully access the Key Stage 3 curriculum.) One school offered a condensed curriculum duringYear 7 and Year 9. Once again, schools adopted different combinations such that, for example a pupil6 The subjects were mathematics, English, science, information and communication technology (ICT), design andtechnology (DT), history, geography, modern foreign languages (MFL), art and design, music, physical education (PE) andcitizenship.9
could follow a Year 7 and Year 8 Key Stage 3 curriculum in one subject and a Year 7 and Year 9curriculum in another.In addition, the model of implementation at individual schools could change over time. For example,some subject areas initially pursued a two year Key Stage 3 but then reverted to a conventional threeyear model. Conversely at some schools additional subjects joined the two year scheme.Among Phase 1 schools, all schools offered a two year programme in Year 7 and Year 8 to at leastsome pupils. Some Phase 1 schools did, however, in addition offer other models (for example somepupils at one school followed the Key Stage 3 curriculum in one subject in Year 7 and Year 9 and atanother school some followed a Key Stage 3 course in Year 8 and Year 9). Among schools in Phase 2of the Project, five provided an enriched foundation year in Year 7 (for at least some pupils) followedby a two year Key Stage 3 during Year 8 and Year 9. Three of these five schools also offered a Year 7and Year 8 programme in some subjects and for some pupils.3.2 Exposure to Two Year Key Stage 3There was clearly much variation in how the Two Year Key Stage 3 project was put into practice inindividual schools. One way of quantifying pupils’ exposure to the two year programme is to calculatehow much Year 7 teaching was devoted to teaching condensed curricula at each of the Project schools.Each subject was given a proportional weighting according to the average time devoted to the subject(average time allocations were derived from the DfES’ ‘Secondary Schools Curriculum and StaffingSurvey’ (DfES, 2002). 7 For each school, the time allocation for each subject was then multiplied by theproportion of pupils following a condensed course in that subject. At each school, the total for allsubjects then represents the proportion of Year 7 teaching that followed a two year programme.Figure 1 shows, for Phase 1 and Phase 2 schools, the proportion of Year 7 teaching, in Spring of year 7,during which pupils were exposed to two year programmes of study (or a foundation programme to befollowed by a two year programme in years 8 and 9). We see that in only seven schools (one fifth of the35 schools that responded to this element of the research) was there more than 90 per cent exposure totwo year programmes of study. At about a quarter of the schools less than 10 per cent of Year 7teaching was devoted to shortened courses. At 13 of the schools some Year 7 pupils had no exposure tothe innovation. These pupils, though they attended Project schools, followed a three year Key Stage 3 inall subjects.7 The weightings were: mathematics 13.9%, English 13.9%, science 13.9%, modern foreign langauges 11.1%, DT 8.3%,ICT 2.8%, history 5.6%, geography 5.6%, music 5.6%, art 5.6%, PE 8.3%, citizenship 5.6%. The exposure proportionsrepresented in Figure 1 may then be understood as the average proportion of time following condensed courses for all pupilsat the school. This calculation drew on data for 4113 pupils at Phase 1 Project schools and 2799 pupils at Phase 2 Projectschools.10
Page 1 and 2: RESEARCHEvaluation of the Two YearK
Page 4 and 5: CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY 21. EVALU
Page 6: nationally expected level for pupil
Page 9 and 10: For schools operating an accelerate
Page 11: 2.2 Attainment and attitudesThe tim
Page 15 and 16: Figure 2 - Percentage of Project sc
Page 17 and 18: The analysis of Key Stage 3 results
Page 19 and 20: Table 4 - Proportion of pupils achi
Page 21 and 22: Figure 4 - 2005 Key Stage 3 mathema
Page 23 and 24: Table 6 - Proportion of pupils achi
Page 25 and 26: SummaryIn the case of English, when
Page 27 and 28: 4.4 Attainment summaryThe analysis
Page 29 and 30: to 8 these were in the opposite dir
Page 31 and 32: Figure 10 - Percentage of Year 7 pu
Page 33 and 34: 6. ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDY DATAAs ha
Page 35 and 36: Table 9 - Operationalisation of the
Page 37 and 38: 6.1 Overall viewsMost, though not a
Page 39 and 40: Points of interest for the higher s
Page 41 and 42: The key advantage is opening up Key
Page 43 and 44: 6.3 ProgressionNevertheless, findin
Page 45 and 46: would no longer exist. Both of the
Page 47 and 48: However, as a colleague noted, even
Page 49 and 50: Most commonly the freedom was used
Page 51 and 52: Phase 2 Project and Phase 2 Compari
Page 53 and 54: A11 - Key Stage 3 attainmentProject
Page 55 and 56: A20 - Reported number of books in t
Page 57 and 58: The variables listed below were inc
Page 59 and 60: Table C1 - Final model for Year 7 M
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Table C3 - Final model for Year 7 E
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Figure C2 - Year 7 English Optional
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Table C8 - Final model for Year 8 m
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Figure C4 - Year 8 mathematics high
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Table C11 - Final model for Year 8
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Good teachersMy teachers make sure
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ANNEX F - CASE STUDY SUMMARIESPhoeb
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Abbotswell SchoolThe case study vis
Page 79 and 80:
Elsiemaud SchoolThe case study visi
Page 81 and 82:
Henryson SchoolThe case study visit
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ANNEX G - OTHER EARLY ENTRANTS TO 2
Page 85 and 86:
Table G5 - Key Stage 3 Mathematics
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