Press Release - Improving Student Performance - How English
Further Education Colleges Can Improve Student Retention and
Achievement
2 March 2001
Over the last five years, further education colleges have helped
a growing proportion of students to achieve their qualifications at
the same time as supporting a big increase in student numbers. But
further education colleges must make greater improvements in their
student success rates, Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit
Office, said today.
Overall success rates1 - the proportion of
qualification aims embarked upon that students successfully achieve
- are only 56 per cent for 16-18s and 51 per cent for
older students. In his report to Parliament, Sir John identified a
number of good practices which the best colleges use – such as
helping students to choose the right course - which would help
other colleges to improve their student retention and achievement
rates.
The report found that the rate of student achievement has
increased from 65 per cent in 1994-95 to 74 per cent in 1998-99
(the latest year for which data are available). This improvement is
due in part to initiatives by the Department for Education and
Employment (the Department) and the Further Education Funding
Council (the Funding Council) aimed at improving teaching quality
and providing incentives for colleges to raise retention and
achievement rates.
There are, however, significant variations in retention and –
particularly – achievement rates between colleges. For general
further education colleges and sixth form colleges, retention rates
vary between 98 per cent and 72 per cent, and achievement rates
vary between 98 per cent and 33 per cent. Although external factors
such as the level of student deprivation and prior attainment of
students explain part of the variation, other reasons include
differences in ethos, systems, procedures and practices at
individual colleges.
Some types of students find particular difficulty in achieving
their qualifications. These include those employed for long hours
of part-time work in parallel with their studies and students
experiencing various kinds of deprivation.
The report makes a number of recommendations to colleges, and to
the new Learning and Skills Council, on how to further improve
student retention and achievement. These cover:
- helping students to choose the right course, for example by
providing better pre-enrolment information about the financial and
time demands of different courses;
- identifying and supporting students who are at greater risk of
non-completion or non-achievement, for example by monitoring
student absence closely and following up such absences promptly and
sensitively;
- encouraging good quality teaching and learning methods,
including providing prompt, regular and constructive feedback to
students on their performance;
- helping students to develop good study techniques including
providing advice on how to take notes effectively and how to set
out written work coherently; and
- assessing performance by collecting better information on the
reasons for non-completion and improving the timeliness of
published data.
Sir John Bourn said today:
"Further education colleges, with the support of the
Funding Council and the Department, have done well over the past
five years to increase the proportion of students who achieve their
qualifications. In particular we were pleased to see that the
number of colleges with overall achievement rates below 50 per cent
has reduced dramatically.
"Overall success rates remain disappointing, however,
and the gap between the best and worst performing colleges is still
too wide. Poorer performing colleges need to adopt the good
practices of the best if they are to help the Government meet the
National Learning Targets2."
Notes for Editors
The further education sector provides a wide range of education
and training opportunities to people from school leaving-age
upwards. There are some 400 further education colleges in England,
enabling 3.8 million students to study for some 17,000 different
qualifications from about 480 awarding bodies, at a cost to the
public purse of some £3 billion.
The Department for Education and Employment is responsible for
determining the overall policy for further education and the
Further Education Funding Council is responsible for implementing
it. From April 2001 a new Learning and Skills Council will replace
the Further Education Funding Council and Training and Enterprise
Councils. (Training and Enterprise Councils are private sector
companies which manage local training and enterprise activities
under a performance-based contract with the Secretary of State for
Employment).
1 Success rates are the number of qualification aims
achieved as a proportion of those started, even though students may
subsequently have dropped them. Achievement rates do not take
account of qualifications started but not completed.
The National Learning Targets represent the Government’s aim of
making a substantial improvement in participation and achievement
in education and training at every level
2 National Learning Targets for 2002
| Classification |
| 19-year olds with "Level 2" (5 GCSEs at A*-C, an
'NVQ level 2, intermediate ''GNVQ or equivalent) |
73.9% |
74.9% |
85% |
| 21-year olds with "Level 3" (2 A-levels, an NVQ
level 3, an Advanced GNVQ or the equivalent) |
52.2% |
53.2% |
60% |
| Adults with "Level 3" (as above) |
45.1% |
46.2% |
50% |
| Adults with "Level 4" (NVQ level 4, i.e. having a
degree or a higher level vocational qualification) |
26.1% |
26.6% |
28% |
| Learning participation target - reduction in
non-learners |
26% of population not in learning |
Data not yet available |
24% of population not in learning |
| |
' National Vocational Qualifications
'' General National Vocational Qualifications
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the head
of the National Audit Office employing some 750 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 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.
Press Notice 17/01
All enquiries to NAO Press Office:
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7798 7400