Progress 8: What if we started at the beginning?
A look at how Progress 8 scores would change if they were calculated purely based on those pupils on-roll in Year 7.
Difficult questions about some schools’ Key Stage 2 results
This research explores Progress 8 scores by feeder primary school – including a resource allowing secondary schools to see their own data.
Why is the performance of MATs so extreme?
Answer: It isn’t. So why ask the question? Well, among the glut of statistics published by the Department for Education on Thursday was a statistical first release on the performance of multi-academy trusts (MATs) [PDF]. At the top of the second page was this curious chart. At first glance, this looks rather alarming. It seems to [...]
Key Stage 4 performance tables 2017: Closing the gap just got harder
Today’s Key Stage 4 statistical release from the Department for Education shows the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others to be narrowing slightly [PDF]. This is based on the DfE's gap index, which is calculated by ranking pupils according to their English and mathematics grades and then calculating an overall index. It would appear to be [...]
KS4 performance tables 2017: Everything we know about coasting schools and floor standard schools
The first table in this post was updated at 17.42 on 25 January 2018 after we noticed – of all things – that percentages in the table did not add up to 100. We very much regret the error. Key Stage 4 league tables – performance tables, to use their proper name – have been published this [...]
Provisional KS4 data 2017: Has your Progress 8 score improved?
I’m not normally inclined to say “I told you so” but, in this case, it might be justified. Back in 2015, when the Department for Education announced the scores for old style GCSEs in 2017, Dave Thomson and I did some calculations to look at 'what if' the DfE 2016 and 2017 scoring systems were applied [...]
Provisional KS4 data 2017: A round-up
The EBacc continues to be ignored There was a slight fall in the percentage of pupils entered for all five subjects making up the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). Even so, the percentage entered for the science and humanities components actually increased. The fall in the headline EBacc entry rate was entirely due to a drop in [...]
Provisional KS4 data 2017: Raising the floor
Schools’ provisional Progress 8 scores for 2017 were published today, having already been released to schools over a fortnight ago. This would have been a chastening experience for those falling below the floor standard of -0.5. On the surface, there are more of them this year than last. But is this fair? Changes to GCSE [...]
How do Ofsted ratings relate to Progress 8 scores?
This is a joint blogpost from Education Datalab and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL). This post was updated on 16 October 2017. The cut-off date for inclusion in this analysis was originally stated as 30 June 2017, based on an earlier draft of this analysis, when it should have been given as 31 [...]