EPI paper calls for a rethink of school group assessments

In response to the Education Policy Institute’s (EPI) report calling for school groups to be assessed on a wider range of measures relating to pupil inclusion, not just pupil progress and attainment,

Russell Hobby, CEO of education charity Teach First, said:

“Proposals to reassess how we measure the effectiveness of school groups would be an important step forward for education in this country.

“Pupil progress and attainment are vital, but an insufficient measure by themselves: we should not ignore the price that can sometimes be paid to achieve results. We must therefore encourage the work many schools do to ensure an inclusive, supportive and sustainable environment for both their pupils and staff. We must avoid damaging practices, such as covert selection or off-rolling, which allow our most vulnerable young people to be forgotten. And we should celebrate those schools and trusts which get the balance right.”

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“The EPI is quite right to highlight that measuring multi-academy trusts and other school groups on pupil progress and attainment alone could create problems that can lead, in some circumstances, to serious consequences for vulnerable students.

“The idea of introducing performance measures that recognise the good work that most schools do in prioritising inclusion and supporting vulnerable children is well observed and something we have already identified as beneficial.

“ASCL’s Blueprint for a Fairer Education System, published in September last year, proposes the idea of a ‘data dashboard’ of performance measures which goes beyond academic results, precisely because of the critical work that schools do in other ways such as inclusion.

“However, any proposal to introduce such performance measures would clearly have to be carefully considered to ensure accuracy and fairness.

“Unfortunately, schools often feel that performance tables are deeply unfair so it is vital that any new measure has the confidence and support of the sector rather than feeling like another stick with which to beat schools.”