Transfer from primary school to secondary school
produce correct spellings. Each item is first presented in isolation, then within the
context of a sentence, and finally in isolation.
Numeracy.
British Abilities Scales II (BAS II);Basic Number Skills. The scale assesses the
child’s ability to compute basic calculations - addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division.
Written Language.
The Wechsler Objective Language Dimensions (WOLD): writing expression
(Rust, 1996). The child is asked to write a letter outlining his or her ideal house.
Children are allowed 15 minutes to complete the task. This free writing task addresses
the development of ideas and organization, as well as punctuation and use of capitals.
Standard attainment test data (SATS)
Data for all children was provided from the Department for Education and Skills
using unique pupil identification numbers. Data were available on levels obtained or
whether the child was absent or not entered for the relevant assessment.
Interviews
Form teacher and SENCO questionnaires were designed to assess the children’s
current strengths and needs and the level of additional support received in school. The
questionnaires tapped: a) teacher’s perceptions of the children’s difficulty during
transfer, b) the amount and type of parental contact, c) curriculum differentiation, d) the
amount and type of support the children received, e) the strengths and needs of the
children. Child interviews tapped the children’s view of school and in Year 6 their
views on the prospective transfer. Separate coding frames were devised for each set of
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