Case studies
Secondary 5: A large secondary school in inner London
Fact file
| Location | South East |
| Setting | Inner London |
| Size | Eight form entry |
| Proportion of SEN | Highest quintile |
| Pupils eligible FSM | Second quintile |
| GCSE English (similar schools, 2013) | Third quintile |
| GCSE English (national, 2013) | Third quintile |
Background
The school bought into Rhythm for Reading after a successful trial period.
Delivery
The programme ran for a ten-week period from October 2013 to February 2014 with sixty Year 8 students taught in groups of ten. Each group took part in one ten-minute session each week for ten weeks.
Assessment
To measure the impact of the Rhythm for Reading intervention programme, twelve of the Year 8 students were selected by the deputy head teacher for individual reading assessment. The twelve were measured on oral reading using NARA before and after the ten-week Rhythm for Reading programme. Ten students attended school on both testing dates.
Progress report
The average (mean) reading scores for the group showed gains in reading accuracy (12 months) and reading comprehension (23 months) and a decrease in rate (7 months), following the ten-week intervention programme. The standardised scores for the Year 8 students indicate that the rate of progress was faster than might have been expected.
Year 8 student voices
‘Joel’
Before starting the Rhythm for Reading programme, Joel read easy passages of text at a fairly good pace, but the baseline assessment showed that his reading accuracy and comprehension ages were more than three years behind his chronological age.
It was good and it helps with your reading….It’s got much better – I can pronounce words. I’m like in English and the teacher tells me to read, I feel much more confident.
The follow-up assessment showed that gains occurred in his reading comprehension (44 months) and also in reading accuracy (23 months) and there was a very small gain in reading rate (1 month).
‘Antonio’
Prior to the Rhythm for Reading intervention programme, Antonio read easier passages of text very quickly, but the baseline assessment showed that his reading accuracy and comprehension age scores were more than 36 months behind his chronological age.
I’m not sure if it’s improved or not, but I think a little bit.
In the follow-up assessment, Antonio made substantial gains both in reading accuracy (25 months) and reading comprehension (39 months). He progressed onto the more challenging passages of text and so his reading rate decreased considerably (21 months).
The students’ names have been changed to protect their identity.