&apos;Literacy Octopus&apos; Dissemination Trial: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary
Author: Lord, Pippa
Date: 2017-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Formative Evaluation,Program Evaluation,Educational Resources,Information Dissemination,Intervention,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Achievement Gains,English,Language Acquisition,Program Effectiveness,Educational Change,Elementary Education,Foreign Countries,Randomized Controlled Trials,Elementary School Students,Statistical Analysis

The &quot;'Literacy Octopus' Dissemination Trial&quot; aimed to test the impact on pupil outcomes of disseminating research summaries and evidence-based resources to schools. The materials aimed to support teaching and learning of Key Stage 2 literacy and were created by leading organisations with experience of engaging schools in evidence use. The EEF funded this alongside a smaller trial which included more proactive support from these organisations to learn about the impact on both attainment and, in the smaller evidence-based support trial, on teachers' use of research. The materials included: (1) an evidence-based printed booklet &quot;Improving Reading: A Guide for Teachers&quot; (CEM, part of Durham University); (2) printed copies of &quot;Better Evidence-based Education&quot; magazine, fortnightly 'Best Evidence in Brief' email summaries, and access to a searchable database, Evidence 4 Impact (IEE, based at the University of York); (3) a link to the archived webinar and materials relating to a conference on research evidence relating to KS2 literacy (ResearchEd, in collaboration with NatCen); and (4) a subscription to the Teaching How2s website which focuses on evidence-based techniques and step-by-step visual guides for teachers (delivered by the Campaign for Learning in partnership with Train Visual). A sample of 12,500 primary schools was identified by the evaluator, NFER, and randomised into five groups of 2,500. In spring term 2015, each of the four providers sent evidence-based materials to their 2,500 primary schools. The remaining 2,500 schools were in the control group. Given the trial did not require any active engagement or consent from the schools, the materials were simply sent to the schools with a brief note about the trial. The evaluation did not aim to collect information about schools' use of the materials, but to provide a large-scale study of the impact of disseminating literacy-related evidence-based materials on pupils' outcomes in KS2 English in summer 2016. The trial was accompanied by &quot;Evidence-based Literacy Support-the 'Literacy Octopus' Trial&quot;, which tested the impact of similar interventions when accompanied by more pro-active support. Key conclusions of the project are: (1) The project found no evidence that Literacy Octopus passive dissemination interventions improved pupils' Key Stage 2 English scores compared with the control group; (2) These findings suggest that simply disseminating research summaries and evidence-based resources to schools is not an effective way for research organisations to support schools to improve pupil outcomes; (3) It is likely that these materials formed a small part of the information received by schools during this time. It is possible that if schools had support to navigate and prioritize that information, greater impact could be achieved. Alternatively, schools may need more support in transforming such materials into actual change in the classroom. The accompanying &quot;Evidence-based Literacy Support-the 'Literacy Octopus' Trial&quot; helps the evaluators to assess this; and (4) The evaluator will analyse the following year's Key Stage 2 results from these schools to explore if there is a longer-term effect of the interventions. [The project was also sponsored by the Mayor's London Schools Excellence Fund (United Kingdom).]