Quest: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary

Quest is a whole-year group approach to teaching English in Key Stage 3. Pupils are grouped according to their current level of reading comprehension, typically with smaller classes for the lowest attaining groups. Key components of the programme include: an emphasis on collaborative (or 'co-operative') learning; a requirement that participating teachers follow a consistent 'cycle of instruction'; and the use of formative assessment in every lesson. Pupil progress is reviewed every eight weeks, with results used as the basis for re-grouping the class. This project sought to assess the impact of Quest on Year 7 pupils' reading comprehension and was supplemented by a process evaluation that assessed programme implementation. Six schools followed the programme, and a further 13 participated in the evaluation. All participating teachers received two days training and extensive resources to be used as part of the approach, including lesson plans, graded texts and 'digitexts' (interactive texts). The programme was designed to be delivered in daily 60-minute lessons by all Year 7 English teachers, and run over the full school year. The study was one of 24 projects in a themed round on literacy catch-up at the primary-secondary transition. Key conclusions include: (1) The evaluation was unable to provide a secure estimate of the impact of Quest on reading comprehension outcomes among Year 7 pupils, primarily due to a high level of drop-out from the trial. (2) Few, if any, schools implemented the programme as designed, suggesting that substantial adaptation may be required if the approach is to gain wider adoption in English schools. (3) Some of the main barriers to successful implementation included: the difficulty in covering the expected material in a single school lesson; a perception of an insufficient focus on writing activities; and its adoption as a whole-year group intervention; (4) Many schools were positive about the range of resources provided by the programme and the co-operative learning aspects of the programme; and (5) Though it is not possible to draw a conclusive statement about the impact of the programme, on average, pupils who received the programme made less progress than those who did not. The evaluation adds limited evidence to a knowledge base of whole-year group approaches to reading interventions that involve co-operative learning, setting by ability, and concentrating most resources on those who are experiencing the greatest difficulties. Further work, taking into account feedback from teachers, is needed in order to adapt Quest to the English secondary school system. This includes reducing the amount of material to be covered in each lesson, and consideration of whether there is a need for more writing opportunities within the programme.