Member Article

Schools in Gateshead could see school performance rocket

Schools within Gateshead could see a sharp rise in progress from next year when the new Attainment 8 progress measures come into force, a new report by Education Datalab entitled ‘Seven things you might not know about our schools’ revealed.

Schools are currently judged on their performance by the number of students that achieve five A*-C GCSEs. However, the new Attainment 8 structure will change perceptions of success almost instantly by judging a school’s performance across eight subject results, regardless of the final grade.

Instead of the C / D threshold being important for schools, from 2016 it’s the results of every pupil. At the moment schools in Gateshead are achieving a combined score of 49.5 with Attainment 8 this could increase by 5.6 points to 55.2

This new structure will allow schools that are currently poorly performing to make rapid improvements in their performance simply by entering their pupils into eight GCSEs. And it’s not just Gateshead schools that will benefit, schools across the region will also see improvements including Darlington (4.9 points), North Tyneside (3.7 points), Middlesbrough (7.4 points) and Redcar and Cleveland (5.5 points).

The eight subjects students will be required to enter must include English and maths, three from a choice of science, computer science, geography or languages and the final three by any other GCSE or eligible qualification. The pupils result in each of these GCSEs, whether it be an A*, on the C/D threshold or even a D or E, will count towards a school’s performance.

The report findings were revealed at the launch of Education Datalab - a new organisation run by FFT that will provide robust quantitative evidence on education in the UK, producing independent, cutting-edge research to help support those leading in the field of education policy and practice.

The report predicted the top 20 local authorities with the most potential to improve include Blackpool, Manchester, Salford, St Helens, Knowsley, Oldham, Sefton, Darlington, Gateshead, North Tyneside, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Bradford, Doncaster, North Lincolnshire, Nottingham City, Walsall, Bracknell Forest and the Isle of Wight.

Dr. Rebecca Allen, Director of Education Datalab said: “The forthcoming Attainment 8 measure will encourage schools in Gateshead to enter their pupils to sit eight eligible GCSEs, pulling on results across all subjects rather than the current 5+ A*-C grades. This will allow those in Gateshead that are currently poorly performing with pupils completing fewer GCSEs to make rapid improvements in their performance simply by ‘filling the entry slots’. However, those schools that are already performing well and enter their students in a high number of subjects will find it harder to progress.”

The report also identified those local authorities that may find it harder to demonstrate improvement because its pupils already sit a high number of Attainment 8 subjects and have a large proportion of high attaining pupils. These include Islington, Waltham Forest, Ealing, Barnet, Lambeth, Newham, Harrow, Brent, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster, Hackney, Dorset, Poole, Southampton, York, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Norfolk and Shropshire – all local authorities and regions that historically have performed well year-on-year.

The full report is available on request.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Education Datalab .