Offering parents the Parent Academy did not improve pupils' reading or mathematics outcomes in a three-arm randomised controlled trial¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r3 · q3 · i0 negligible
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i0 In an intention-to-treat analysis, neither incentivised nor non-incentivised Parent Academy classes improved maths or reading outcomes for pupils in Years 3 to 6, with estimated impacts close to zero. → Husain et al. 2016 (2) q3 i0 Estimated impacts for children whose parents attended non-incentivised sessions were negative but possibly due to chance, so no negative impact was concluded. → Husain et al. 2016 (2)

Evidence¶

Husain et al. 2016¶

Fatima Husain, Nico Jabin, Sarah Haywood, Adetayo Kasim, Jonathan Paylor. (2016). Parent Academy: Evaluation report and executive summary. Education Endowment Foundation. http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN42518213

q3 · i0 · causal · r3

Three-arm randomised controlled efficacy trial in 16 English primary schools, individual-level randomisation of pupils, analysed on an intention-to-treat basis with multilevel models. The report states the "estimated impact on each outcome was close to zero" for reading and general mathematics (InCAS age-standardised scores).

"The evaluation did not find evidence that offering parents either incentivised or non-incentivised Parent Academy classes improved maths or reading outcomes for pupils in the trial."

Husain et al. 2016 (2)¶

Fatima Husain, Nico Jabin, Sarah Haywood, Adetayo Kasim, Jonathan Paylor. (2016). Parent Academy: Evaluation report and executive summary. Education Endowment Foundation. http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN42518213

q3 · i0 · causal · r3

The same trial's reported negative point estimates for children of parents attending non-incentivised sessions were not interpreted as a negative effect; the evaluators state the results "may have been due to chan ce".

"attended the non-incentivised sessions, the estimat ed impacts on maths and English were actually negative, but these results may have been due to chan ce, so we would not conclude that Parent Academy has a negative impact."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Parental attendance dose was not associated with pupil outcomes: more sessions attended did not yield more impact — related
• Financial incentives of £30 per session increased parental attendance at Parent Academy sessions — related
• The Tips by Text intervention did not produce significant improvements in children's early reading-related skills (YARC) relative to control — related
• No evidence of improved outcomes for pupils eligible for free school meals — a narrower finding that bears on this claim