Study notes state schools' efforts in literacy

Most primary state schools are contributing just as much to their pupils' progress in literacy as Church and independent schools, according to a pioneering Maltese study released this week.

But this does not mean that state school pupils have reached the same level of attainment as their counterparts in the other schools. Reading and comprehension tests in Maltese and English carried out on all 10-year olds in Malta as part of the study showed that they score lower in both languages.

The tests were conducted for the second national literacy survey. The first was carried out three years ago among the same pupils, then aged seven.

Overall, the pupils were found to be making "good progress" in both Maltese and English, a finding described as "very positive".

However, the team of Maltese and British researchers who carried out the study, led by Charles Mifsud from the University of Malta's Literacy Unit, were also able to measure the effects of pupil, home and school influences on performance.

Using innovative techniques, never before employed in the field of education on a nationwide basis, they established to what extent factors such as age, sex, first language and parents' background contributed, separately, to the performance and progress of the children being tested.

The effect of school was another factor they isolated. After accounting for the influence of all the other factors, they found out that overall the contribution of state schools to their pupils' progress was just as significant as the contribution of private schools.

The results of individual schools are confidential, so it is not possible to draw up some kind of league table.

"Some schools were pleased with their results, others were taken aback," Dr Mifsud said. And although the general level of state schools may not be as high as that of private schools, the pupils in some state schools achieved greater improvement over the three years as a result of the school's input. This was clearly evident in Gozo where the performance of pupils in most schools registered "steady progress".

On the other hand, in the inner harbour region, primary state schools were found to be lagging behind other state schools in terms of their contribution to both their pupils' performance and progress.

"This is a complex matter which requires a careful consideration of the issues involved," said Dr Mifsud.

See education