Authors

Jessie Ricketts

Professor Jessie Ricketts is director of the Language and Reading Acquisition (LARA) lab at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Jessie researches reading and spoken language development in childhood and adolescence, and considers its benefits to learning and subsequent implications for education and our everyday lives. 

All articles by Jessie Ricketts
How to bridge the gap between primary and secondary reading
There is more freely accessible support than ever to help secondary schools boost students’ literacy, yet some of this may be passing school leaders by, writes Jessie Ricketts
Secondary
30 April 2026
Bridge made of books
Do schools need a Year 8 reading test?
The DfE plans to introduce a new reading assessment for Year 8, but how useful would this be for schools? Reading researcher Jessie Ricketts gives her view
Secondary
2 October 2025
Year 8 reading test
What do reading assessments really tell us?
Reading assessments can lead schools to think that an intervention hasn’t worked, but that’s not always the right conclusion, says Jessie Ricketts
Secondary
7 December 2023
What do reading assessments really tell us?
Teenage reading: 5 things schools need to know
Secondary students are struggling with reading, and schools are finding it hard to support them, say Jessie Ricketts and Laura Shapiro, who have published new research on how to help
Secondary
22 June 2023
Book
Is there a vocabulary ‘slump’ in transition?
Teachers have observed an apparent decline in children’s literacy as they move from primary to secondary school. But does this slump really exist? Reading researcher Jessie Ricketts finds out
Secondary
2 December 2022
Literacy
Is this how to close the gap between research and the classroom?
Academics and teachers have so much to learn from each other, write Jessie Ricketts and Megan Dixon as they explore what makes for a successful collaboration
General
21 November 2022
Is this how to close the gap between research and the classroom?