HC Deb 17 July 2002 vol 389 cc367-8W
Mr. Gibb

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his answer of 2 July 2002,Official Report, column 243W, what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated to corroborate trends in the results of the Key Stage 2 literacy tests. [70073]

Mr. Miliband

[holding answer 12 July 2002]The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has established an annual testing programme to provide data on pupils' attainment and progress in Years 3, 4 and 5. The data, collected and analysed by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NfER), augment those already available through the national curriculum tests at Year 2 and Year 6 and is reported in Ofsted's annual evaluation reports on the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. Ofsted's report on the third year of the National Literacy Strategy said thatFor Pupils in Year 4 and Year 5, the average age-standardised score was significantly higher in 2001 than 2000".

The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE/UT) has also been commissioned to evaluate the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. They will publish their final report early next year.