INTRODUCTION

In the White Paper 'Achieving Success', the Secretary of State announced her intention to enhance the data published in performance tables from 2002 through the inclusion of measures of value added for schools, based on the progress made by individual pupils from one stage of their education to another. These tables contain the results of a pilot study designed to look at how value added might be measured and presented from Key Stage 2 (KS2) to Key Stage 3 (KS3) and from KS3 to GCSE/GNVQ. We are indebted to those schools who volunteered to participate in the pilot and willingly checked additional data so that these results could be presented alongside the information already available in the performance tables.

This pilot study examines the practicalities of collecting data and presenting the results of value added measures from KS2 to KS3 and KS3 to GCSE/GNVQ. The following paragraphs describe the background to the pilot study. This is followed by the pilot results. The technical annex explains the value added calculation in more detail.

Your comments

The lessons learned from this pilot will inform our proposals for publication at national level next year. Your views on all aspects of the exercise are important to us, so please complete the questionnaire or alternatively telephone Janet Falekulo on 020 7925 6394 to request a paper version. All comments are welcome, but to ensure they inform our proposals for next year they should be submitted by no later than Monday 31 December 2001.