To plan cluster-randomized trials with sufficient statistical power to detect intervention effects on student achievement, researchers need multilevel design parameters, including measures of between-classroom and between-school differences and the amounts of variance explained by covariates at the student, classroom, and school level. Previous…

Randomized control trials (RCTs) are commonly regarded as the 'gold standard' for evaluating educational interventions. While this experimental design is valuable in establishing causal relationships between the tested intervention and outcomes, reliance on statistical aggregation typically underplays the situated context in which interventions…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a physical education-based development and maintenance programme on objective and perceived health-related physical fitness in high school students. A sample of 111 students aged 12-14 years old from six classes were cluster-randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 54) or a control…

Data-based decision making (DBDM) is an important element of educational policy in many countries, as it is assumed that student achievement will improve if teachers worked in a data-based way. However, studies that evaluate rigorously the effects of DBDM on student achievement are scarce. In this study, the effects of an intensive…

The Perry Beeches Coaching Programme aimed to improve the reading and writing skills of Year 7 pupils with low levels of attainment in four English secondary schools. Across the project, 16 coaches were employed to provide academic support to pupils who had not reached level 4c in English at the end of Key Stage 2. Originally it had been intended…

The Magic Breakfast project provided 106 schools with support and resources to offer a free, universal, before-school breakfast club, including to all Year 2 and Year 6 pupils. The aim of the project was to improve attainment outcomes by increasing the number of children who ate a healthy breakfast. The schools in the project were schools in…

Abracadabra (ABRA) is a 20-week online literacy program composed of phonic fluency and comprehension activities based around a series of age-appropriate texts. Four 15-minute sessions per week are delivered by a teaching assistant (TA) to groups of three to five pupils. This report summarizes the findings of a randomized controlled trial assessing…

The ReflectED programme was developed by Rosendale Primary School to improve pupils' metacognition--their ability to think about and manage their own learning. This includes the skills of setting and monitoring goals, assessing progress, and identifying personal strengths and challenges. ReflectED consists of 28, weekly, half-hour lessons, which…

Fresh Start (FS) is a catch-up literacy intervention for pupils at risk of falling behind their peers in early secondary schooling. It provides systematic and rigorous practice in phonics so that pupils are at an appropriate level to join the mainstream group after completion of the intervention. Pupils are assessed and then grouped according to…

The Tutor Trust is a Manchester-based charity that aims to provide affordable small group and one to one tuition to schools. The Trust recruits university students and recent graduates, which enables it to provide tuition at a competitive rate. It predominantly aims to support schools in challenging communities and pupils who are looked-after or…

This Learner Response System (LRS) intervention involves the use of electronic handheld devices that allow teachers and pupils to provide immediate feedback during lessons. For example, pupils can respond to a question using the device and responses are immediately visible to the teacher, or they can work through problems on the device at their…

This article examines the effects of one year of exposure to "Learning to Read in a Healing Classroom" (LRHC) on the reading and math skills of second- to fourth-grade children in the low-income and conflict-affected Democratic Republic of the Congo. LRHC consists of two primary components: teacher resource materials that infuse…

Philosophy for Children (P4C) is an approach to teaching in which students participate in group dialogues focused on philosophical issues. Dialogues are prompted by a stimulus (for example, a story or a video) and are based around a concept such as 'truth,' 'fairness' or 'bullying.' The aim of P4C is to help children become more willing and able…

The "Hallé SHINE on Manchester" (HSoM) programme is a Saturday school educational programme designed to increase the reading and maths attainment, as well as engagement with school, of underachieving and disadvantaged pupils at Key Stage 2. Developed in collaboration between the SHINE Trust and Hallé Orchestra, the intervention provides…

The Nuffield Early Language Intervention is designed to improve the spoken language ability of children during the transition from nursery to primary school. It is targeted at children with relatively poor spoken language skills. Three sessions per week are delivered to groups of two to four children starting in the final term of nursery and…