Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Quest has evolved out of a project called Reading Edge, a computerised reading programme (intervention) that has been used in the United States. It is designed to help struggling readers in early secondary school improve their literacy (reading and writing skills). Pupils are grouped together according to their reading skills, with those furthest behind in the smallest groups. Teaching includes cooperative learning (people working together in groups). Children who are struggling the most with their literacy also receive computer tutoring and one-to-one teaching tailored to meet their own needs (individualised teaching). The programme will run over a whole school year. There is already some evidence that the approach as applied by Quest does work, but it has yet to be tested in the UK. Here, we will test the Quest programme with Year 7 children in England.
Who can participate?
Year 7 pupils (11-12 year olds) in a state secondary school in England.
What does the study involve?
Schools are randomly assigned to either teach Year 7 English using Quest (intervention), or using their usual methods (control) for one school year. Children being taught by the Quest programme are regularly accessed and moved into different groups depending on how they are progressing. The success of the programme will be assessed though a literacy test taken by all the children in the study.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Anticipated benefits of taking part are improvements in literacy. Teachers in the control group will continue to teach the Year 7 curriculum as usual. There are no anticipated risks to participating.
Where is the study run from?
Queen's University Belfast (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
January 2013 to December 2014
Who is funding the study?
Education Endowment Foundation (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Andy Biggart
Trial website
http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects/quest-1/
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
Cluster randomised controlled trial evaluation of Quest
Acronym
N/A
Study hypothesis
What is the impact of the programme, at post-test, on reading outcomes for participating students?
Ethics approval
School of Education Research Ethics Committee, Queens University Belfast and the Ethics Committee of the Department of Education, University of York, 17/04/2013
Study design
Cluster randomised controlled trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Trial setting
Other
Trial type
Quality of life
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Condition
Improving reading outcomes
Intervention
Schools taking part in the study are randomly allocated to teach English using the Quest programme (intervention) or teach English by their usual means. Quest is a literacy programme in which pupils are groups according to their reading skills, with smaller classes for those furthest behind. Teaching includes an emphasis on cooperative learning, with computer tutoring and individualised teaching.
Intervention type
Behavioural
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measures
Literacy - measured using the New Group Reading Test at end of school year.
Secondary outcome measures
N/A
Overall trial start date
01/01/2013
Overall trial end date
30/12/2014
Reason abandoned
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
Year 7 pupils in 30 state secondary schools
Participant type
Patient
Age group
Child
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
2400 pupils in 30 schools
Participant exclusion criteria
Not a pupil in Year 7 in a state secondary schools in England
Recruitment start date
01/01/2013
Recruitment end date
30/12/2014
Locations
Countries of recruitment
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
Queen's University Belfast
School of Education
Belfast
BT7 1LN
United Kingdom
Funders
Funder type
Government
Funder name
Education Endowment Foundation (UK)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Not provided at time of registration
Intention to publish date
Participant level data
Not provided at time of registration
Results - basic reporting
Publication summary