Press Release - Making a difference: performance of maintained
secondary schools in England
28 November 2003
When measuring the performance of maintained schools in
improving the academic achievements of their pupils, the Department
for Education and Skills should take account of newly available
data on the academic achievements of the pupils in earlier stages
of their education and on aspects of their economic, social and
cultural backgrounds.
This recommendation appears in a report today to Parliament by
head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn. Although not all
relevant factors can be taken account of, the report points out
that adjusting for the influence of those external factors for
which data are available provides a more robust and objective
assessment of school performance – in terms of the difference
schools make – than measures of academic achievement alone.
The National Audit Office report is based on analysis of data
for more than one million pupils in more than 3,100 schools who sat
their Key Stage 3 tests or GCSE/GNVQ examinations in 2002. The
analysis shows that the wide variations between the average
academic achievements of pupils in different schools at both Key
Stage 3 and GCSE level diminish substantially when adjustments are
made for the influence of external factors, although there remain
considerable differences between high and low performing schools.
And taking account of external factors can make a big difference in
the performance rankings of schools relative to one another.
The analysis showed some association between different types of
school and the difference they make to academic achievement.
Selective schools, specialist schools, faith schools, beacon
schools and single sex schools all achieved, on average and to
varying degrees, a higher ranking than the average for all schools
at either Key Stage 3 or GCSE level or both, although the average
differences in performance are small.
Prior academic achievement was the external factor that had the
strongest association with current academic achievement.
Eligibility for free school meals, which is used as an indicator of
deprivation, also has a strong association. However, eligibility
for free school meals is a fairly imprecise indicator of
deprivation. It does not assess relative economic well-being, or
capture other social, cultural and environmental factors that might
also have a strong influence on academic achievement.
The characteristics of an effective school, in terms of the
quality of education provided, are widely recognised. They have
been promoted by Government policy and initiatives in recent years,
for example through the specialist schools programme, and are the
main focus of Ofsted’s inspection programme. They include a clear
ethos or vision, related to the school’s particular circumstances;
effective leadership and management; high quality teaching;
effective procedures for encouraging pupil attendance and good
behaviour; and strong links with parents and the local community.
These characteristics can take many different forms, and the most
effective schools are those that are best able to adapt them to
their local circumstances and priorities.
The National Audit Office report makes the following specific
recommendations to the Department for Education and Skills:
- that it should produce and make publicly available performance
information for maintained secondary schools that takes into
account academic achievements adjusted not only for pupil prior
achievement, but also for other external influences;
- that it should use this adjusted performance information as a
tool, amongst others, for assessing school performance and
evaluating the effectiveness of policies that impact on
schools;
- that, in association with other departments, local authorities
and other organisations with an interest in indicators of economic
and social deprivation, it should explore whether an indicator more
sophisticated than eligibility for free school meals can be
developed; and
- that it should ensure that schools have sufficient flexibility
in their use of resources to best meet the educational needs of all
pupils.
There is also a recommendation to Ofsted that, in informing its
judgements on the quality of education provided by schools and in
further developing its risk-based approach to school inspections,
it should use the improved information now becoming available to
take more account of the influence of external factors on the
academic achievements of pupils.
Sir John Bourn said today:
"Measuring and comparing the performance of schools are
vital to the task of improving the education of our children. The
Department and Ofsted are now able to take into account the
influence of external factors in order to analyse the difference
that schools make to the academic achievements of their pupils.
This provides a more robust and objective assessment of the
relative performance of schools, and gives policy makers a firmer
basis for targeting their efforts on those schools most in need of
support."
Notes for Editors
- The academic achievements of pupils aged 11 to 16 are assessed
by:
National Curriculum Key Stage 3 tests at the age of 14; and
GCSE and GNVQ examinations at 16.
- Each year, the Department for Education and Skills publishes
performance tables that show, for each maintained secondary school,
a summary of the performance of the school’s pupils in Key Stage 3
tests and GCSE/GNVQ examinations. The tables contain some useful
information but are of only limited value in comparing the
performance of different schools, types of school, and the same
school from one year to the next. This is because the academic
achievements of pupils are influenced not only by the quality of
education they receive, but also, to varying degrees, by external
factors that are outside schools’ control. The Department’s
performance tables for 2002 included, for the first time,
performance measures of the academic achievements of each school’s
pupils, relative to the national average for pupils of equivalent
prior achievement. However, the assessment took no account of other
external influences on performance, particularly pupils’ economic,
social and cultural backgrounds.
- It is only possible to adjust academic achievement for those
external factors for which the relevant information is available.
The NAO’s analysis therefore included factors such as pupil age,
gender, ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals, but not
others, such as school funding, the age and condition of school
buildings, and parental occupation and education levels, which are
also likely to influence academic achievement.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at http://www.nao.org.uk/ Hard copies can
be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 73/03
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