Reading hardly improved since 1950’s

Durham University slams £500m. waste

Researchers at Durham University claim that reading standards in our schools have barely improved since the 1950’s and that “£500 million was spent on the National Literacy Strategy with almost no impact on reading levels.” The apparently dramatic rise in primary school test results “exaggerated the changes in pupils’ attainment levels and were seriously misleading”.

Oddly, I thought that back in the days of long rows of desks, teacher in front, learning parrot fashion, we tended to do better, even if it wasn’t ‘fun’ at the time. So any improvement at all since then must be seen as a major plus!

Whether it was worth the £500m. is quite a different subjective matter!