Transfer from primary school to secondary school
In the Spring of Year 7 all three cohorts completed a series of standardised tests
examining reading decoding, reading comprehension, spelling and writing. (see
measures section). Questionnaires were completed by form tutors, subject specialists
and, for the SSLD and SEN cohorts, by the SENCO. In addition the children and parents
were interviewed. Only responses to questions pertaining to transfer to secondary school
are reported in this paper
Measures
Standardised assessments
Tests with high reported measures of reliability and validity were identified to
assess language and attainments (see Dockrell, Lindsay, Connelly & Mackie, 2007)...
Nonverbal ability.
British Abilities Scales II (BAS II) Matrices subtest (Elliot, Murray, & Pearson,
1997). Children are presented with a set of patterns where one pattern is incomplete.
There is a choice of six responses and children are required to point to the missing
piece.
Vocabulary.
British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS; Dunn, Dunn, Whetton, & Burley,
1997): Children are shown four line drawings and asked to choose the one that best
illustrates a word spoken by the assessor.
British Abilities Scales II (BAS II) Naming subtest (Elliot et al., 1997).
Children are shown a series of familiar items and asked to name them.
Grammar.
Test of Reception of Grammar (TROG; Bishop, 1983). A multiple-choice test
designed to assess understanding of grammatical constructions. Children are shown