§ Mr. LockTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) carried out on the effect of the literacy hour on reading standards amongst primary school pupils. [66978]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisRecently published evaluations of the pilot National Literacy Project, by OFSTED and the NFER, show that the Literacy Hour is effective in raising standards. Children's reading test scores improved by about 8 to 12 months above what would normally be expected, in less than two years.
Schools began implementing the National Literacy Strategy in September 1998. The DfEE's formal evaluation of the strategy consists of visits by OFSTED to a representative national sample of schools, literacy tests developed by QCA for pupils attending these schools, and an overview evaluation by an international team led by Michael Fullan of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.