| ISSUES ARISING FROM THE PILOT |
| This Value Added pilot has demonstrated the complexity of collecting and matching the underlying pupil level data, and of the subsequent calculations to arrive at value added measures. When value added measures are introduced into the school performance tables, it will be important to make them understandable to people with no technical background. |
| We need to decide on the number and type of value added indicators eventually to be published in the school performance tables. Space available in the tables is a consideration, but the key issue is which indicators people perceive to be most useful. |
| Value added measures for secondary schools can be either between Key Stage 3 and GCSE/GNVQ, or between Key Stage 2 and GCSE/GNVQ. The latter measures pupil performance over the whole of pre 16 secondary education and may be seen as a more accurate reflection of the value added by an individual school. However, there are some schools where the age of transfer from primary education does not coincide with the end of Key Stage 2. For these schools, the Key Stage 3 - GCSE/GNVQ measure is likely to be preferable. But for school performance tables purposes it may eventually be better to publish both measures for all schools while also indicating their age range. |
| For the pilot, an average of the levels achieved in the core subjects at Key Stage 3 has been used as the input measure. An alternative approach could be to use the raw scores which underlie the level achieved. There are some practical difficulties with this approach. Pupils at the extremes of the ability range are excluded, the data are much less reliable and changes to scoring systems affect direct comparisons between years. |
| The output measure used for the pilot is the total GCSE/GNVQ point score per pupil. The average point score per entry has been suggested as an alternative. However, one significant disadvantage of this approach would be that, for example, 1 'A*' grade (8) would appear to be better than 10 'A' grades (7). |
| Some pupils move between schools and the progress they make will not be due to the efforts of one school alone. For the pilot, all 15 year old pupils on roll at the 1998 School Census date have been included in the calculation of the school's value added measure ( apart from those pupils disregarded, for example, because of absence or who have missing results for all of the Key Stage 3 tests). But there is a 'stability measure' which shows the proportion of pupils on roll who were at the school when they took their Key Stage 3 tests, to give an indication of pupil turnover.
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| PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS |
| Special schools often have small pupil numbers overall, and may have fewer than 10 pupils in the 15 year old cohort. Small numbers of pupils can give fluctuating results from one year to another because of the disproportionate effect one or two pupils can have. QCA, following consultation, recommended that value added measures should not be published for schools with 10 or fewer pupils in the 15 year old cohort. There are in fact very few schools with such small cohorts included in the pilot, although some have small numbers for one or more of the value added indicators. Their results have been published for the sake of completeness. |
| Many pupils with special needs may be working below National Curriculum test /assessment levels or their progress may not be reflected by an increase in National Curriculum level. If only test results are used, then it will not be possible to include many pupils with SEN in value added calculations. The pilot has been able to use task levels, but this option will not be available when value added measures are published in school performance tables. QCA has recommended using teacher assessments where test results are not available. This has not been piloted and further work may be needed to develop a satisfactory process for these pupils. DfEE and QCA have commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research to produce guidance on target setting in special schools for pupils who will remain below Level 4 of the National Curriculum throughout their school careers. The guidance will be available in December and will include criteria for setting targets for this group of pupils which will also help with the development of value added measures. |
| Value added comparisons between many special schools and mainstream schools are questionable because of the different character of the special schools' intake. For the pilot, the value added measures for special schools have been calculated separately and are presented in their own tables. |
| Mainstream schools with a SEN unit or a significant proportion of SEN pupils may not necessarily compare well in value added terms with other mainstream schools and this would disadvantage schools who are making greatest progress on inclusion. The pilot has sought to address this by showing value added indicators for pupils with different levels of attainment at Key Stage 3. Readers should then be able to see the progress made by pupils with different starting points. |
| Pupils with SEN may also take key stage tests and/or GCSE/GNVQ exams later than other pupils, and, because the cohort is based on 15 year old pupils, they will not have a value added 'score', because they will not have an output measure. It may be that eventually value added measures for SEN pupils could be calculated on the basis of their attainment at different stages, regardless of the age at which they sat tests or exams, or were assessed for other qualifications.
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