Do schools make a difference? A report on using the Malta National Literacy Survey as a basis for a school effectiveness or value added study

Abstract

The wor reported here is based on the first ever Malta National Literacy Survey (MNLS) which was carried out in March 1999. The results of the main study were reported in Mifsud et al., (2000). Almost every child in the Maltese Islands (these include the two sister islands of Malta and Gozo) born in 1992 was tested in both Maltese and English, using equivalent parallel tests. Complete data was gathered on 4554 children. Multilevel modelling was used as the main statistical approach. A small island such as malta, without enormous natural resources, may well wish to adopt a strategy of concentrating on human resources and the skill of its population. Key among these will be the ability to communicate in one of Community's official languages, and here the island's impressive performance in successfully teaching English to a largely Maltese-speaking population will be of great value. At a time such as this, it will also be important to ensure that the distinguishing features of the islands' heritage and culture are preserved. One important facet of this will be the preservation and encouragement of the Maltese language. Value added techniques use the statistical technique known as multilevel modelling to assess progress and provide schools with an important means of monitoring their own performance. Some way of assessing the quality of the entry is necessary for value added studies. The MNLS could provide an intake measure for assessing progress at later stages in primary schools. Results from studies comparable to the MNLS could also be used to provide the outcome of a value added study. It is generally considered that a measure of attainment at entry to school is the optimum predictor of eventual outcome. However the research reported here shows that the MNLS home background information is of high quality and could provide a comparably powerful predictor at early stages of education.