Schools could eliminate the learning gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in reading by providing a “core knowledge curriculum”, a study suggests.
The core knowledge curriculum is based on the ideas and research of ED Hirsch, who is often cited by schools minister Nick Gibb.
Hirsch’s work has influenced the Department for Education’s promotion of a knowledge-rich national curriculum, despite criticism that its focus is too narrow.
Now a six-year study has been hailed by its authors as the first long-term research into the knowledge-rich approach, and the first to show sizeable effects on a state standardised test.
The working paper, yet to be peer-reviewed, says the effects of a core knowledge curriculum are “large enough to eliminate achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students” for eight- to 12-year-olds in reading, maths and science.
If the results translated into other subjects, “early interventions that build general knowledge may be a new direction for eliminating achievement gaps across all subjects”, it says.
The knowledge-rich curriculum approach
The study also claims that the gains would be enough to close the international gap in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls), which assesses the attainment of nine- to 10-year-olds across the globe.
It says that “priority should be given to making measures of general knowledge a central objective of educational and social policy and future data collection”.
However, the paper itself notes some research sampling issues, and acknowledges that the study - based on charter schools, similar to the UK’s free schools - “provides no experimental evidence” that “regular” schools would produce similar effects.
The research was carried out across nine oversubscribed charter schools across Colorado that use the core knowledge curriculum.
A lottery was used in which 2,310 kindergarten pupils applied to attend one of the nine schools. The 688 pupils selected were then compared with the remainder attending other schools.
Measures in reading and maths were taken between grade 3 and grade 6 (8- to 12-year-olds).
The study claims that the cumulative long-term effect for all pupils involved in the intervention was approximately 16 percentile points.
Eight of the nine schools in the study had pupils who were mostly from middle- and high-income families.
At those eight schools, there were large benefits to reading scores, the study claims.
But at the remaining school, in a low-income district, the curriculum showed even larger effects on reading, and significant benefits in maths.
The effects were “large enough to close achievement gaps for disadvantaged students [from grade 3-6] in all subjects measured”.
The findings are applicable to the UK, according to Daniel Willingham, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and one of the paper’s co-authors.
“There is no reason to think that the reasons that this curriculum was so successful would be specific to the US context or the Colorado [context],” he said.
However, Professor Willingham thought more testing was needed to determine the reasons for success.
He also highlighted caveats outlined in the study, which include a recognition that there “may be differences between charter and public schools that might lead to differences in impacts of the core knowledge curriculum”.
Would it have the impact in the UK?
Dr Christian Bokhove, professor in mathematics education at the University of Southampton, said that it was “quite questionable” whether the study could be applied to the UK.
While the results were “impressive within the world of trials”, he did not think they were “decisive”.
Asked if he would like to see a similar study in the UK, Dr Bokhove said he was “sceptical” due to the cost. The US study had almost $5 million in funding.
Responding to the findings, Mr Gibb said: “Teaching all our children in schools a broad, ambitious knowledge-rich curriculum is key to providing them with a first-class education which sets them up for a bright future.
“That is why, since 2010, we have made significant reforms to the curriculum and ensured that the teaching of rich subject knowledge is a top priority for schools.”
