Research School Network: The Impact of Reader Pens in Exams for Students with EAL, SEN or Low Reading Ages By Dr Trudy Coleman, City Academy Norwich

Norwich Opportunity Area, in consultation with Norwich Research School, created the Evidence Based Practice Fund as a mechanism for school improvement. Schools in the Opportunity Area were able to bid for up to £25,000 in order to implement an evidence-informed intervention in the classroom.

City Academy Norwich successfully bid for funding to pay to introduce reader pens in certain groups of students. In this guest blog the project lead, Dr Trudy Coleman, summarises the outcomes of the project.

Introduction

EAL students with identified SEND are at significant risk in regards to low attainment. When compared to EAL students with no recorded SEND, those with School Action, School Action Plus, and statements are approximately 4, 6 and 10 terms behind their counterparts (Strand, et al. 2015). Students with both EAL and SEND are frequently denied reader access arrangements during public examinations due to their EAL status: it is difficult to prove a learning need rather than a language need (Su, 2018). Exam reader pens have been approved by the JCQ for use in exams without special access arrangements (JCQ 2016/17 Statement).

Reader pens can improve GCSE English Reading paper grades for dyslexic students and improve emotional well-being, confidence and attitude to learning (Strand, et al., 2015). The characteristics associated with SEND may block access to test content (Thurlow, et al., 2009), so students are not able to show their knowledge and skills because the assessment itself is a barrier (Thurlow, et al., 2010). The aim of the project was to identify to what extent exam reader pens are able to support EAL, SEND and students with low reading ages in GCSE exams.

Framework

The project was a quantitative experimental methodology which compared the attainment of a control group, and a test group (access to reader pen), followed by a student perception questionnaire. The test group comprised 23 students from the population (all year 11 science students) who met either the EAL, SEN or low reading age (below 12 years) criteria.

The random matched control group of 23 students had similar prior attainment and gender (without EAL, SEND or low reading ages). A series of three science assessments – mock (baseline), mock 2, and actual exam – were taken by the entire population.

Results

The experiment’s results indicated that the students in the test group (using the reader pens) made more progress in their second mock exam (0.48 grades on average) than in their first (baseline) mock exam, compared with the control group who made less progress (-0.41 grades on average). There was a difference of nearly 1 grade (0.89 on average), with the test group outperforming the control group. The test group made more progress in their actual GCSE exam (1.48 grades on average) than in their first mock exam, compared with the control group who made slightly less progress (1.33 grades on average). There was a slight difference of 0.15 grades on average. Although this difference seems slight, it is important to note that none of the students in the control group have EAL, SEND or low reading ages. Therefore, any progress made by the test group towards matching the grades of the control group is very positive.

The questionnaire revealed that 41% of the test group students used the reader pens in all or most of their exam and that 36% used the reader pens in some. 71% of these students agreed or strongly agreed that the reader pens helped them to understand more questions. 59% of these students agreed or strongly agreed that they helped them to attempt more questions. The students were very positive about the reader pens in the open question section of the questionnaire:

​“A good piece of technology that can help a lot of people”
​“They are brilliant for words you don’t understand”
​“It was good, the school should use them again for the next year coming up”.

Conclusion

The project findings suggested that reader pens can benefit students with EAL, SEND and low reading ages by providing them with a means to access content and independently undertake exams. The reader pens appeared to ensure the academic progress of vulnerable (EAL, SEND and low reading ages) students. However, it is important that students are given time to familiarize themselves with the reader pen technology before using them in their exams (Thurlow, et al., 2010):

​“I struggled to use it”

I am currently working with the SEND and English departments at my school to ensure that the students are given the best chance of success by building the reader pens into their normal way of working.