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Headteachers' attitudes to league tables

Press release issued: 23 February 2005

Headteachers recognise the flaws in secondary school league tables but are forced to recognise their significance in the minds of parents, according to new research from the University of Bristol.

Headteachers recognise the flaws in secondary school league tables but are forced to recognise their significance in the minds of parents, according to new research from the University of Bristol.

Deborah Wilson, Bronwyn Croxson and Adele Atkinson of the University’s Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO) surveyed 21 heads about their views on and responses to the published league tables.  They found that:

  • Heads are aware of their school’s position in the league tables almost exclusively as measured by the percentage of students achieving five or more GCSE passes at grade C or above (the %5A*-C indicator).
  • The need to focus on this measure arises from its position as the headline figure most commonly quoted in the press, not because heads believe it provides an accurate measure of school performance.  One commented: ‘Although it’s the stupidest measure… it’s totally engrained on the public psyche, isn’t it?’
  • Heads face potential conflict between their dual roles as educationalists – wanting to do the best for each student – and marketers wanting to attract the maximum number of students to their school.
  • Most heads are very aware of their role as marketers and believe that a successful marketing strategy relies on taking account of parental views, which in turn are influenced by the %5A*-C indicator.
  • But heads do not use %5A*-C within their schools: instead, they employ a range of measures of changes and gains to help improve student outcomes.
  • Heads employ two kinds of strategy to improve their league table position: strategies targeting underachieving students generally, regardless of the league tables, and strategies aimed at improving their league table position.
  • For the latter strategy, the overwhelming focus is targeting students on the C/D borderline. This may be at the expense of non-borderline students.
  • Since 2002, the league tables have included measures of secondary schools’ average ‘value added’ between the Key Stage tests at the ages of 11, 14 and 16.
  • These value added measures allow more accurate comparisons of schools’ performance but have little impact on heads’ behaviour, either as educationalists or marketers. Heads do not think the new measures will replace the %5A*-C indicator in the minds of parents, at least not in the short to medium term.

The researchers conclude that the potential for value added measures both to inform parental choice of schools and to provide effective incentives for headteachers is currently not being exploited.

Dr Deborah Wilson said: “There needs to be a shift in focus, away from indicators of school performance based on raw test scores and towards measures of the direct impact that schools have on children’s progress.  This is likely to require both simplification of the existing league tables and a process of learning for parents about how to interpret the results.

“Consultation with headteachers about these changes will help them to execute their central role in the link between measurement of, and improvement in, student performance.’

'School Performace: How Headteachers Respond to Measurement’ by Deborah Wilson, Bronwyn Croxson and Adele Atkinson is published in the Winter 2005 issue of the bulletin of the Centre for Market and Public Organisation.

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