A methodology for judging departmental performance within schools

Summary

Overall performance statistics for schools are of little value in school self‐improvement because they do not differentiate finely enough between subject departments. What is needed is to identify subject departments which are ‘adding value’ by producing better results than might have been expected, as well as those departments which are under‐performing. Direct comparisons of GCSE results between subjects are problematical, and have led to a variety of supposedly sophisticated techniques which purport to allow for subject difficulty, but which are themselves difficult to operationalize and comprehend, as well as being of uncertain validity. A method for comparing subject grades within schools with expected results based on a group of schools is presented, which is simple and robust and has been used in practice to identify departments ‘adding significant value’.

Keywords:

• school effectiveness
• school improvement
• subject difficulty
• GCSE performance