With official measurements of school quality about to change, prospective and current secondary students alike will be effected. Ellena Brooks explains Attainment Eight and Progress Eight and the impact they will have on pupils.
Every parent wants the best education possible for their children and choosing the right secondary school is vital to this. Weighing up the pros and cons of each particular school though can quickly become overwhelming, especially as school league tables are about to be dramatically reconfigured. Here then I will identify and summarise the primary aims of Attainment Eight and Progress Eight and discuss the possible affects they will have on secondary education.
School attainment is currently measured by the percentage of its students who achieve five or more GCSE grades between A* and C, two of which have to be in Maths and English. Attainment Eight, as the name suggests, will increase the number of marks used in this calculation to eight so as to provide a broader view of student results.These subjects will consist of the following:
- English and Maths; as the highest priority they will have their value to the overall attainment result being double that of other subjects
- At least three in science, history, geography and modern foreign languages
The remaining three subjects can include any of the previous or GCSEs categorised as creative or vocational courses.
It will not be compulsory for students to take eight qualifications or have those fit the demands of Attainment Eight, though many schools will no doubt encourage it, such as through an increased focus on traditional academic subjects.
The more dramatic of the planned changes to school league tables though will come from Progress Eight, which will add a secondary measure of school assessment through calculating student progress. This will be done by comparing the results of student GCSEs to the predictions they were given upon entering secondary education, effectively aiming to assess standards of teaching.
While there are other forms of assessing school quality, like Ofsted reports, and there are factors and elements this system will not be able to take into account, Progress Eight may be able to tackle one of the primary criticisms aimed at the current school performance tables.
The demographics of a student has a well recorded effect on their education, with the most deciding factor in educational achievement being social class. The competitive nature of the modern education system means that the highest scoring schools accept only the best pupils, who tend to be those who have had the most advantages.
This, critics have argued, makes it difficult to tell whether school league tables truly represent the quality of an establishment's teaching and facilities, or instead the quality of their admitted pupils. Progress Eight then could serve to illuminate this and reveal what is truly the best school for your child.
Progress Eight and Attainment Eight will be officially introduced for all schools starting the new academic year in 2016, with its first results appearing in either late 2016 or early 2017, well in time for you to apply for the next school year. There have though been some schools who opted to begin the assessment a year early; the results of which can be viewed in the most recent edition of the school league tables.
One such example in Surrey is Richard Challoner School where the official verdict on these new policies was overwhelmingly positive. Ian O'Brien, Deputy Head, told us that it was a simple matter for the school to prematurely adopt the policy as it fitted neatly alongside their current course structure. With many of their students already pursuing ten or more GCSEs, the school believes that Attainment Eight will have little impact on student's choices in subjects. Progress Eight also doesn't worry them, as they maintain great pride in the quality of their staff and student support.
Some may raise concerns that with Attainment Eight shifting the boundaries of what qualifies as good student attainment students will be put under more pressure to succeed. However Richard Challoner School strongly maintains that neither their reputation nor Attainment Eight will affect their prioritisation of student individuality and need. If for whatever reason a student is not suited to or can't fulfil the criteria of Attainment Eight, the school is determined to support them regardless of how this will effect their own place in the school league table.
Rather than limiting the subjects students will take, Ian O'Brien suggests instead that the policy could improve the status of humanities and creative subjects. This would also put students in a position of greater ability to choose when it comes to pursuing further education.
It appears then that Attainment Eight and Progress Eight are a positive change to modern British education. While it remains to be seen how they will affect schools as a whole, particularly those schools with lower rankings in the school league tables as those like Richard Challoner School who volunteered have overwhelmingly higher than average results, the future is looking positive.
If you would like to know more information on Attainment Eight and Progress Eight, the official government proposal is available here to download or you can view The Exams Office report.
It is highly recommended that if you have any questions or concerns you also speak to the schools in question about their plans for the future.
For more articles like this one you can check out the Kids and Education section of our website, where you can find other articles like our Top Ten Senior Schools in SW London.
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