School league tables

ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on the latest school league tables and the apparent problem of underperformance in English and maths.

 

Government Response: DfES

Schools minister Jim Knight said: "I congratulate pupils, teachers and parents on their achievements.

"These results clearly show that our record investment continues to drive up standards faster than ever - the last two years have shown the two biggest year-on-year increases in GCSE results since 1997.

"I am especially pleased to see more young people than ever leaving school with good GCSE passes in English and maths.

"We are determined that every young person should be equipped for life with the basics - and introducing these subjects into achievement and attainment tables reflects the importance we place on it.

"Our transparent approach will help parents to compare and contrast schools on the most important measures.

"However, we are not complacent and recognise there is a still a long way to go until every child has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

"There should be no hiding place for underperforming and coasting schools that fail to make a significant positive impact on their pupil’s progress.

"That’s why we are committed to further tailoring and personalising learning to ensure that individual pupils get the support they need.

“Our pilot programmes, announced this week, will stretch the most able pupils and build on the targeted support for pupils that have fallen behind with literacy and numeracy skills at Key Stage two and three.

"We are also determined to improve the performance of boys, particularly in GCSE English, and to reverse the decline in take-up for modern foreign languages.

"I also congratulate schools which top the new Contextual Value Added table.

"This allows schools to be recognised for the outstanding impact they have had on their individual pupil's progress - not simply on headline GCSE and A-level results which do not necessarily take account of schools with challenging intakes of pupils.

“I am delighted that unauthorised absence has fallen – and that local authorities are using our tools to tackle it, including parenting contracts to reinforce parental responsibility for school attendance and behaviour.

"The bottom line is, the more a child is in school, the better results they can achieve."

 

Party Response: Conservatives

Shadow secretary of state for education David Willetts said: "These figures reveal the alarming gap between the government’s old measure and this new more rigorous target.

"We welcome this new standard, which better helps to define what a pupil should achieve at school. However this does not go far enough.

“We need to ensure that every pupil leaves school with a decent education in the basics- not just in maths and English, but in the sciences, history, and modern languages.

"This is what every pupil is entitled to and deserves. Currently, too few pupils are being given this opportunity. 

"That is why a crucial indicator is the percentage of students gaining five A* to C in English, maths, science and a modern language.

"There the figures show an actual decline since 1997. 

"Instead  pupils are being pushed into subjects which  will meet targets without providing them with an education which will benefit them throughout life.

"Only once we achieve this will standards truly rise.

"It is right that pupils and parents have a measure of their schools’ performance.

"Yet the league tables need to reflect further the rigorous subjects that a pupil has been entered for.

"Only then will the tables work for the benefit of all."

 

Party Response: Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat education spokesman Sarah Teather said: "This new benchmark highlights the perverse incentives created for schools by the very existence of league tables. The answer to this problem is not to add more categories but to scrap them all together.

"Pupils are being entered for exams where the motive has more to do with a school’s league table position than the students’ best interests.

"Parents can tell much more about a school’s overall performance by visiting a school, talking to teachers and observing lessons.

"Rankings in a league table tell you nothing about the ethos and discipline of a school, or the aspirations they instil in their pupils.

"The sad fact is that secondary education in this country is in a rut due to an outdated curriculum.

"The government needs to have the courage to start again with an overarching diploma combining academic and vocational courses, which would stretch the brightest and re-engage struggling pupils."

 

Stakeholder Response: ATL

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said:  "The crucial question, hidden by these statistics, should be whether young people are getting the skills they need - and not whether schools are doing well in the league tables.

"The endless testing, targets and the league tables encourage risk-averse teaching and learning to the test, and so stifles innovation and learning. 

"Although we are told the tables show us how well schools are performing, they ignore evidence of deep-rooted problems, caused by an over-burdened and rigid curriculum and excessive testing.

"Contextual value added league tables, while well-intentioned, do not lessen the damaging effects of league tables - they just cause confusion in an attempt to answer critics’ concerns. 

"We need a thorough review of the whole system of accountability, rather than another add-on.

"The plethora of league tables confuses parents and is of little use in showing which school will be best for their children.  

"Parents want a school where their child will be safe, happy and well-educated - these dubious and increasingly incomprehensible performance statistics do not help."

 

Stakeholder Response: NUT

Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "It would be unfair to see the drop in GCSE league table scores when factoring in grade C for English and mathematics as the fault of schools.

"In fact the latest secondary league tables highlight the government's lack of joined up thinking.

"Of course the basics are essential but the government hasn’t yet freed up the over prescribed 11 to 14 curriculum to enable teachers to concentrate on the basics when children need it.

"The changes in percentage scores highlight the absurdity in school league tables themselves.

"Youngsters are not automatic failures if they do not achieve grade C’s .

"They may have achieved wonders to get to a grade D yet that achievement is written off.

"I call on the government, yet again, to ensure that the whole damaging system of performance league tables and targets is reviewed.

"Policy-making must be de-politicised to serve 14 to 19 education better."

 

Stakeholder Response: The Institute for Education

Professor David Raffe of the University of Edinburgh, co-editor of a new study on policymaking in 14 to 19 education, said: "Policy-makers in England have tended to launch new policies without a proper understanding of local experience and without learning the lessons from previous attempts at reform.

"They have placed more priority on pursuing political aims with unrealistic timetables for implementation."