The name is absent

Figure 1.3: Factors with significant ‘net’ effect on attainment in Mathematics at the end of Year 5

Child Measures

Examining the net impact of child factors on attainment in Reading in Year 5, we find that gender,
birth weight, ethnicity, number of siblings, the need of EAL support and early developmental
problems are found to have a statistically significant net effect. For Mathematics in Year 5 the
following child characteristics are found to have significant net effect: birth weight, early health
problems, ethnicity and number of siblings.

Differences related to gender were found in favour of girls for Reading (reported as effect sizes
ES = 0.10). This difference, though significant was relatively small in size (for details on the
calculation and interpretation of effect sizes see the Glossary). The result is in line with findings
at earlier time points. Boys show significantly higher attainment than girls in Mathematics now,
though this effect is no longer statistically significant when account is taken of differences in
some aspects of KS1 home learning activity (parents reported boys made much greater use of
computers at home than girls and this was associated with better attainment in Mathematics). At
earlier time points in Key Stage 1, girls showed higher attainment in Mathematics than boys.

Children with very low birth weight had significantly lower attainment in Reading (ES = 0.40) and
Mathematics (ES = 0.42) in Year 5 than children with normal birth weight⁵. This is in line with
findings at earlier time points, although interestingly for younger ages the effect was stronger for
Mathematics than for Reading.

As a group, children from larger families (with 3 or more siblings) showed significantly lower
attainment in Reading (ES = 0.21) but not in Mathematics. This may reflect reduced
opportunities for parental time to read with a child in larger families during the early years.

Also, children whose parents reported early developmental problems at the beginning of the
study showed lower attainment in Reading than children for whom no early developmental
problems were reported (one developmental problem: ES = 0.17, more than one developmental
problems: ES = 0.42). However, early developmental problems did not have any significant

⁵ Babies born weighing 2500 grams or less are defined as below normal birth weight: foetal infant
classification is below 1000 grams, very low birth weight is classified as 1001-1500 grams and low birth
weight is classified as 1501-2500 grams (Scott & Carran, 1989).

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