Making sense of school performance data in 2025
This year's published secondary school performance data shows why Progress 8 (or something like it) is needed, despite its flaws
The pupils who leave school without passes in GCSE English and mathematics
Post-COVID there has been a rise in the percentage of pupils leaving school without a pass (9-1) in GCSE English and a similar figure in maths. Most of these pupils were not entered for examinations.
DfE will need to take account of age when comparing schools’ rates of pupils achieving a good level of development
We look at some of the things DfE should consider when providing schools with comparative analysis of the percentage of pupils reaching a good level of development (GLD) at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Calculating a Key Stage 4 progress measure using CAT4 in place of Key Stage 2
There will be no official Progress 8 measures this year due to the cancellation of Key Stage 2 tests in 2020. However, we have produced an alternative measure using CAT4 scores as a baseline.
Proxies of Progress 8
As there will be no Progress 8 measures this summer, we look at a few options for calculating proxy scores instead
Three options for reflecting pupil movements in Key Stage 4 performance measures: Part two
In this second part we calculate some alternative performance indicators that reflect pupil mobility
Three options for reflecting pupil movements in Key Stage 4 performance measures: Part one
We set the scene for measuring pupil mobility alongside secondary school performance indicators and examine how many pupils change schools between Year 7 and Year 11.
Key Stage 4 attainment indicators for special and alternative provision schools
Announcing a new report in FFT Aspire for special and alternative provision schools
Some things you might not know about our schools – a birthday special
As we celebrate our tenth birthday, we look back at some of the issues we were talking about when Datalab launched, and reflect on some of the other big issues in education today.