We have an accountability system that has encouraged schools to check that children are making a certain number of sub-levels of progress each year. This is the basis on which headteachers monitor (and now pay) teachers and on which Ofsted judges schools. Yet there is little hard science underpinning the system in use: take a [...]
Attainment 8 and Progress 8, the new Key Stage Four school accountability measures due to be introduced by Government in 2016, will undoubtedly make a difference to how schools enter their pupils for qualifications. They are reminiscent of the old 'best eight or capped' and 'contextual value added' measures in that they judge a school [...]
This year's published secondary school performance data shows why Progress 8 (or something like it) is needed, despite its flaws
Schools' Progress 8 scores for disadvantaged pupils tend to be correlated with the percentage of disadvantaged pupils in a school's cohort. But this is the case in some regions more than others.
Around 8% of the gap in Progress 8 scores between disadvantaged pupils and non-disadvantaged pupils in 2024 appears to be attributable to the way in which pupils from both groups are shared out between schools
Some headline indicators from our collection of Key Stage 4 data from schools this year, plus a few thoughts looking ahead to Progress 8
This research explores Progress 8 scores by feeder primary school – including a resource allowing secondary schools to see their own data.
We look at how identification of SEN changes from Year 6 to Year 7, and the types of school that pupils move into.
In collaboration with TES magazine last year, we analysed the characteristics of pupils in schools which used banding tests in their admissions processes. Here we set out our full methodology and findings.
DfE are proposing a change to the way they calculate bandings that summarise schools' progress scores. We look at the pros and cons of doing so.
