Primary review: Literacy strategy 'fails to yield results', says study

The Cambridge University review of primary education released three interim reports on standards and testing last week, following on from the first interim report, Community Soundings, published last month (News, 18 October). Standards in Quality in English Primary Schools Over Time: the national evidence found that reading standards in primary schools have remained more or less static since the 1950s, despite £500m being spent on the National Literacy Strategy. Maths standards, however, had seen substantial improvements since 1995. The report stated that the dramatic rise in Key Stage 2 results...