Commenting on the publication today of the secondary school
performance tables, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the
Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“Performance tables can never tell the full story of a school and
we urge parents and governors not to place too much weight on
them.
“The secondary school performance tables are inherently flawed in
that the headline measure of Progress 8 which is used to judge
the performance of schools effectively penalises schools which
have a high proportion of disadvantaged children. The effect of
this is to stigmatise these schools, making it more difficult to
recruit headteachers and teachers and demoralising pupils,
parents and communities.
“In particular, we would urge the media and the public to beware
of the so-called ‘floor’ and ‘coasting’ standards which are
applied to schools in the performance tables. These are complex
measures which Education Secretary has acknowledged are confusing
and intends to replace with a single measure from September 2019
which will trigger support for schools. Any changes will need
careful thought and must not be rushed in.
“Current performance tables are long past their sell-by date. We
urgently need fairer performance measures which better recognise
the achievements of schools that teach the most vulnerable
pupils.”
