Planet Science | Parents | SATs and League Tables

Assessment is very much a part of modern school life. Pupils may not enjoy tests and exams, and you’ll read plenty of comments in the papers about the dangers of putting children under undue pressure. But the main reason for testing pupil’s knowledge throughout their school career, is to ensure they are learning as much as possible, so that they can be all they can be.

The results of certain tests are also incorporated into schools ‘Performance Tables’ – or 'league tables' as they’re more commonly known. Performance tables can be useful to parents who want to get a handle on how well the pupils are achieving in a certain school – but there’s more to interpreting these tables than you may realise.

Read on, and find out more

•	Standard Attainment Tests (SATs)
•	Teacher Assessments
•	League Tables
•	‘Value Added’ measures
•	Links

SATs

The National Curriculum sets standards of achievement in each subject for pupils aged 5-14. This is tested when they reach the end of each Key Stage. These tests give an indication of how pupils and schools are doing compared with national standards in these subjects.

For most subjects, these standards range from Levels 1 -8. Pupils progress up the levels as they get older and learn more.

•	most 7 year olds are expected to achieve Level 2
•	most 11 year olds are expected to achieve Level 4
•	most 14 year olds are expected to achieve Levels 5 or 6

Your child is compared with his or her age group

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TEACHER ASSESSMENTS
(not to be confused with the SATs)

All teachers check their pupils' progress in each subject as a normal part of their teaching. They must also assess pupils' progress in English, Maths and Science against the National Curriculum standards when pupils reach the end of each Key Stage.

Teachers use their knowledge of the work each pupil has done throughout the year in class to judge his or her progress, and decides which ‘level’ best describes a pupil's performance in each area of learning in that subject.

Teacher assessment results are not part of the compulsory data that LEAs are required to publish and are not included in any performance tables. Some LEAs do, though, include their schools' teacher assessment results in the booklet for their area. And each school must include teacher assessments in their prospectus and annual governors' report.

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LEAGUE TABLES

•	Primary schools
•	Secondary schools

Primary schools

The Primary School Performance Tables are published by individual Local Education Authorities (LEAs) for the schools in their area. They are available online.

The tables give the following information:

•	Background information such as number of pupils including the % of pupils with special educational needs at the school.
•	*Key Stage 2 test results. These are displayed as a % of pupils achieving Level 4 and above in each core subject (English, Maths and Science). This is the level expected of most 11 year olds*

An average point score.

This is calculated by allocating points to each pupil's Key Stage 2 results in each test then dividing that total by the number of eligible pupils in each subject. Eg. if a school with 100% pupils achieving level 4 or above in all three subjects has a score of 30, that tells you that a proportion of pupils have achieved level 5 or above in some or all of the tests.

The point score value can be used to compare that school’s year’s results with the previous three years and also with the LEA as a whole and against the national average.

Some LEAs chose to supplement the compulsory data with additional information on the schools in their area. This can be found in the LEA booklets which are available directly from the LEA, or from your local school or library - contact your LEA to find out how to get hold of one.

You may wish to discuss the results with teachers at your school

•	How do they feel the school is performing, and what plans do they have to improve their pupils' results?
•	How can you support the work of the school?
•	What more can you do to help your own child do better?

If you are considering which primary school your child might attend, the information in the tables about the performance of schools in your area might be useful. But the tables only show part of the picture of each school's overall achievements, and you’re encouraged to do some more research through other sources.

For example, you can find out more about the school in its prospectus, governors' annual report or a recent Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) inspection report. You’ll find a database of inspection reports, together with more information at OFSTED. You should also be able to visit schools and talk to teachers directly.

Secondary schools

The league tables that cover secondary schools provide information on:

•	The number of pupils including % of pupils attending the school, and the number that have special educational needs.
•	*Key Stage 3 test results. These are displayed as a % of pupils achieving Level 5 and above in each core subject (English, Maths and Science). This is the level expected of most 14 year olds.*
•	*The GCSE/GNVQ achievements of pupils (the % of pupils who achieved 5 GCSEs grades A-C) who reached school leaving age in the previous school year;**
•	The average point score. This provides a fuller picture of the KS3 achievements of pupils of all abilities. It allows you to compare schools with a similar % of pupils achieving Level 5.
•	Two measures which show how much ?value? each school has added, based on the progress made by individual pupils from one stage of their education to another.

This concept of "value added" is crucial in interpreting schools performance tables, read more about it below.

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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ‘VALUE ADDED’

Some children will always find it difficult to do well in assessment tests. It may be, for example, that they have significant special educational needs. But all children are capable of making progress and it is important the work these schools do with their children is reflected and taken into account by anyone looking at the performance tables.

The Value Added measure has been developed to describe this progress. Value Added measures are intended to allow you to compare between schools with different pupil intakes (e.g. a selective and non selective school).

For example:

•	School A might show high percentages of pupils achieving Level 5 and above
•	School B shows lower percentages

But in Value Added terms, the pupils at school B may have made more progress since KS2 than other pupils and therefore have a higher Value Added 'score' than school A.

There are two measures of ‘Value Added’ for each school

•	One is related to the progress made by pupils at the end of KS3 since taking their KS2 tests
•	The other relates to the progress made by pupils at school leaving age since taking KS3 tests

Since the two measures are based on different groups of pupils and they are measured in different units, they cannot be combined into a single measure.

•	The Key Stage 2 (KS2) to Key Stage 3 (KS3) measure
•	The Key Stage 3 - GCSE/GNVQ measure

The Key Stage 2 (KS2) to Key Stage 3 (KS3) measure

Each pupil's Value Added score is based on comparing their KS3 performance with the median - or middle - performance of other pupils with the same or similar results at KS2. The individual scores are averaged to give a score for the school that is represented as a number based around 100. This indicates the value the school has added on average for their pupils.

Interpretation of this Value Added measure:

The Value Added scores are shown as a measure based around a standardised national average of 100 ie. scores above 100 represent schools where pupils on average made more progress than similar pupils nationally, while scores below 100 represent schools where pupils made less progress.

So for the KS2 to KS3 Value Added, a measure of 101 means that on average each of the school's pupils made one term's more progress between KS2 and KS3 than the median for pupils with similar KS2 attainment. Conversely, a score of 99 means that the school's pupils made a term's less progress.

The significance that can be attached to any particular school's Value Added measure depends, among other factors, on the number of pupils included in the Value Added calculation. The smaller the number of pupils, the less confidence you can place on the Value Added measure as an indicator of whether the effectiveness of a school is significantly above or below average

In the 2002 tables, the top 5% of schools nationally on the KS2-3 Value Added measure achieved scores of 103.4 or above. The bottom 5% of schools on this measure achieved scores of 97.4 and below.

The Key Stage 3 - GCSE/GNVQ Value Added measure

The Value Added measure for each school is based on the progress made by individual pupils between KS3 and GCSE/GNVQ. Each pupil's Value Added score is calculated by comparing their GCSE/GNVQ performance with the median - or middle - performance of other pupils with the same or similar prior attainment at KS3.

The individual scores are averaged to give a score for the school which is represented as a number based around 100. This indicates the value the school has “added” on average for their pupils.

Interpretation of a school's Value Added measure

For the KS3 to GCSE/GNVQ measure, a score of 101 means that on average each of the school's pupils achieved one extra GCSE/GNVQ point than the median score for pupils who have achieved similar level of KS3 results elsewhere in the country. Conversely, a score of 99 means that the school's pupils achieved one less GCSE/GNVQ point.

As before, the level of significance that can be attached to any particular school's Value Added measure depends, among other factors, on the number of pupils included in the value added calculation. The smaller the number of pupils, the less confidence you can place on the Value Added measure as an indicator of whether the effectiveness of a school is significantly above or below average.

In the 2002 tables, the top 5% of schools nationally on the KS3-GCSE Value Added measure achieved scores of 103.7 or above. The bottom 5% of schools on this measure achieved scores of 94.3 and below. The table below also shows the scores of schools in the top and bottom quarters.

Schools in quarter: top 5% top quarter lowest quarter lowest 5% Range of KS3-GCSE/GNVQ VA measures 103.7 and above 100.5 and above 97.0 and below 94.3 and below

NOTE: Independent schools

Independent, normally fee-paying, schools are not obliged to follow the National Curriculum. Those schools that take part in National Curriculum tests have the option to request that Key Stage 3 results, the Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 value added measure and/or the Key Stage 3 to GCSE/GNVQ measure are not published for the school. Where an independent school opted out of the publication of this information, 'NP', meaning 'not published', is written in the relevant columns on the tables.

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