The government has this morning published details of what data schools will be judged on in this year’s league tables.
The document includes further detail on primary school floor standards, as well as announcing that minimum progress scores for primary subjects will be revealed next month and primary schools will have access to progress data from September 1.
Below are explanations of this year’s headline measures, and details on the new coasting definitions for primary and secondary schools.
Primary schools
Schools will be able to check provisional data for their school earlier than previous years – from September 1. At this point, schools will also be given their progress data.
Headline measures for key stage 2 are:
– the percentage of pupils achieving the “expected standard” (a scaled score result of 100) in reading, writing and maths
– pupils’ average scaled score in reading and maths
– the percentage of pupils achieving the higher standard in reading, writing and maths
– pupils’ average progress in reading, writing and maths
Progress measures:
– The KS2 achievement for each pupil compared with other pupils who were at a similar level at the end of KS1
– Schools will be given a progress score for the cohort to show whether they have made more or less progress between KS1-2 than other pupils nationally with similar starting points
Floor standards:
– at least 65 per cent of pupils achieving the “expected standard” (a scaled score result of 100) in reading, writing and maths, or
– the school makes “sufficient progress” in reading, writing and maths
The minimum progress score, which will be used to measure “sufficient progress”, will be announced early next month.
Concerns have already been raised about this measure, when the results were announced last month.
Coasting schools:
Schools will be eligible for intervention, and possible academisation, if they are deemed to be coasting.
For 2016, this will be a slightly messy combination of measures.
Primary schools will be coasting if:
– in 2014 and 2015, a school had fewer than 85 per cent of pupils achieving level 4 in reading, writing and mathematics and below the median percentage of pupils making expected progress in all of reading, writing and mathematics, and
– in 2016 have fewer than 85 per cent of children achieving the new expected standard (100 in the scaled score) at the end of primary and average progress made by pupils in reading or writing or mathematics is below a level set against the new primary progress measures (as described above)
Changes
The league tables will no longer be measured by the performance gap between free school meal pupils and their peers within the school. However, the tables will still include the gap between a school’s FSM results and pupils nationally.
Performance tables will then be released in mid-December.
Secondary schools
Provisional data for secondary schools will still be released ahead of the October 31 deadline for secondary school admission deadlines.
The headline measures will be:
– Progress 8 (the progress a pupil makes from the end of KS2-4, compared with pupils nationally with similar attainment). A greater score means a pupil has made more progress than other pupils with a similar starting point.
– Attainment 8 (the achievement of a pupil across 8 qualifications: mathematics (double weighted), English (double weighted), three English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects, and three other subjects
– The percentage of pupils achieving A*-C in English and maths
– The percentage of pupils achieving the EBacc
– The percentage of pupils entering the EBacc
– The percentage of students staying in education or employment after KS4 (based on the 2013-14 cohort going into 2014-15 destinations)
There were 327 schools that opted in for Progress 8 last year, and there will therefore be a two-year comparison for those schools. The rest of England’s secondary schools will just have 2016 Progress 8 scores.
Floor standard:
A school will be below the floor standard if its progress 8 score is below -0.5 (half a grade), unless the confidence interval suggests the score may not be below average
Coasting:
As with primary, this will be a muddle of different measures.
This year, a school will be coasting if:
– in 2014 and 2015 it had fewer than 60 per cent of children achieving 5 A*-C GCSEs, including English and maths, and below the median percentage of pupils making expected progress in English and mathematics; and
– in 2016 fall below a level set against the new Progress 8 measure. This level will be announced in the autumn.
By 2018, coasting will measured entirely by three-year Progress 8 data. There will be no attainment element.
Changes
The previous headline measure, five A*-C GCSEs, including English and Maths, will be removed from the main performance tables.
As with primary schools, the league tables will no longer be measured by the performance gap between free school meal pupils and their peers within the school. However, the tables will still include the gap between a school’s FSM results and pupils nationally.
Extra data will be given for each school, including the percentage of pupils entering more than one language qualification and the percentage of pupils entering physics, chemistry and biology.
The threshold measure on percentage of pupils achieving English and maths will change “to align more closely with Progress 8”.
The point score scale for performance table measures in 2016 will change from the current 16-58 scale to a 1-8 point scale. A GCSE grade G will be equivalent to 1 and an A* is equivalent to 8.
Performance tables will then be released in January, 2017.
No other country has high stakes exams at ages 11 and 16 which are used to judge schools. Sats at age 11 have no educational value. GCSEs can be justified as they show achievement at 16 which in turn decides post-16 progression. BUT their prime value should be to pupils, parents and post-16 providers. They should NOT be used to judge schools – using them in this way distorts what is taught in a way which is not always to pupils’ benefit. The OECD warned in 2011 there was already too much emphasis on exam results at age 16 and this risked negative effects.
A sensible situation would be to move towards graduation at 18 via multiple routes.
I could not agree more with this comment.Educators in other countries would never employ such methods to evaluate their school.Here in Canada,students are assessed in sensible ways which is why some Canadian provinces are rated much higher than the UK because they take a sensible approach.It is interesting to note that British teachers are held in high regard in Canada and it is no wonder there is a teacher shortage in the UK which is only going to get worse if other methods of assessment are not found.Perhps it is time to call on the Finns and ask their opinion.
Sensible ways being?
One of my daughter’s closest school friends has been asked to leave school because her AS results weren’t sparkly enough. Nothing to do with application or ability, purely about league tables. Now she will have to link in with another sixth form who are already more than half way through their preparation for A Levels, or else start again. Sadly it seems most schools now are more concerned about their reputation than the welfare of the children they teach. I really feel the situation would be ameliorated if schools were forced to disclose statistics about the number of their own pupils refused admission to Years 12 and 13.
e.g.
Percentage of school pupils refused admission to sixth form: 30%
Percentage of new school pupils admitted to sixth form: 30%
Percentage of sixth form pupils asked to leave school on receipt of their AS results: 10%
Percentage of surviving pupils achieving 3 or more A*-B grades: 88%
This would give parents of children from Y6-Y11 valuable information about the true performance of the school on which they could make a more informed decision as to their child’s best interests.
As a teacher myself I have watched a once worthy profession deteriorate into a dog eat dog, every man for himself approach, as the demands for teachers to squeeze more and more from pupils rises. Shame on you Britain!
That’s why I have taken early retirement _ I hate how a profession that I once held so dear now expects teachers to ram facts down the throats of increasingly younger children. I have no heart for this – it’s not the job I signed up for. Our children deserve so much better>