Closing the achievement gap: colleges making a difference: report of research project undertaken by the Learning and Skills Development Agency

In a bid to raise standards and improve student achievement across the further education (FE) sector, the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) established 'Differential achievement', a research project aimed at: investigating reasons for the large variations in student retention and achievement; assessing the extent to which demographic factors are the main determinants of differences in rates of retention and achievement; and identifying institutional practices connected with higher and lower levels of retention and achievement in order to inform college-level improvement strategies. The project was undertaken in two stages. The first stage was directed at the first two of the above aims while the second stage evaluated the complementary impact on achievement of differences in institutional practices. This report, based on the findings of the second stage of the project during which the Agency's consultants visited a sample of colleges with a range of achievement rates, aims to clarify the relative influence of institutional performance and demographic factors on student achievement, and to guide colleges on effective strategies to raise achievement. The contents are: Summary of findings; Background and aims of project; Stage 1 findings; Stage 2 methodology; Background, mission and ethos; Strategies for maintaining and raising achievement; Student recruitment, placement and induction; Curriculum development; Tutorial systems and other support systems; Teaching and pedagogy; Monitoring, evaluation and follow-up; Conclusions and implications. Includes references.

The report on the first stage of the project, entitled 'Differential achievement: what does the ISR profile tell us' is indexed at TD/TNC 70.552.

In a bid to raise standards and improve student achievement across the further education (FE) sector, the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) established 'Differential achievement', a research project aimed at: investigating reasons for the large variations in student retention and achievement; assessing the extent to which demographic factors are the main determinants of differences in rates of retention and achievement; and identifying institutional practices connected with higher and lower levels of retention and achievement in order to inform college-level ...  [+] Show more