Closing the Gap: Test and Learn

This document describes an evaluation of the "Closing the Gap: Test and Learn" program, which was designed to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children through a series of interventions. The program's goals included identifying effective educational strategies, fostering connections between teaching and research, and promoting teacher involvement in research. A range of methodological approaches, including large-scale randomized controlled trials, was employed to assess the impact of interventions on literacy and numeracy. The findings revealed mixed results, with some interventions showing potential benefits, while others did not significantly outperform standard school practices. The evaluation also highlighted the importance of teacher-led research and provided training to enhance educators' research skills. Despite some limitations, such as the reliability of standardized tests and small sample sizes, the program demonstrated the value of evidence-based practices in reducing educational disparities. The document concludes with a call for careful consideration of system-led research approaches and the interpretation of educational RCTs, along with a glossary and summaries of completed studies. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: Closed organisation: National College for Teaching and Leadership
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Impact evaluation
• Impact methods: Randomised control trial (RCT)
• RCT methods: Cluster RCT
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: January 2016

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes