HOW TO READ THE TABLES

The tables provide the following details for each school included: name, address and telephone number; type of school; whether a school is part of the specialist schools programme; admissions policy; whether the school is mainly for girls, boys or both; and the age range. More detailed explanation is contained in the abbreviations and their meanings section.

Background information

For the KS2 to KS3 measure the first set of columns show the total number of pupils aged 13 at the start of the academic year followed by the number of pupils eligible for KS3 assessment and the number and percentage of these pupils with special educational needs.

KS3 results

The second set of columns show the percentage of eligible pupils achieving level 5 or above in English, mathematics and science together with the percentage of pupils absent or disapplied from the tests.

Value added measure and coverage

The third set of columns shows the value added 'measure' for each school. This is based on the value added scores of their individual pupils. A pupil's value added score is based on comparing their KS3 performance with the median - or middle - performance of other pupils with the same or similar prior attainment at KS2. The individual scores are averaged to give a score for the school, which in the pilot is represented as a number centred around 100. This indicates the value the school has added on average, for their pupils. Scores greater than 100 represent schools where pupils (on average) made more progress than pupils with similar KS2 results nationally. A score of 101 means that on average, pupils made a sixth of a National Curriculum level more progress between KS2 and KS3 than the median for pupils with a similar KS2 attainment. This represents approximately one term's extra progress. Conversely a score of 99 means that the school's pupils made one term's less progress.

The coverage column shows the percentage of pupils eligible for KS3 assessment that are included in the value added calculation.

Background information

For the KS3 to GCSE/GNVQ measure, the first set of columns show the total number of pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year on roll followed by the number and percentage of these pupils with special educational needs.

GCSE/GNVQ

The second set of columns show the percentage of 15 year olds obtaining the GCSE equivalent of 5 or more passes at grades A*-C, 5 or more passes at grades A*-G, the percentage of 15 year olds with no GCSE/GNVQ passes and the average point score per 15 year old.

Value added measure and coverage

The third set of columns show the value added information. The value added measure is based on comparing GCSE/GNVQ performance with the median - or middle - GCSE/GNVQ performance of other pupils with the same or similar prior attainment at KS3. The individual pupil scores are aggregated to give a score for the school, which in the pilot is represented as a number centred around 100. Scores above 100 represent schools where pupils have (on average) achieved better results at GCSE/GNVQ than pupils with similar KS3 results nationally. A score of 101 means that on average, each of a school's pupils achieved one extra GCSE/GNVQ point than the median for pupils with similar KS3 attainment. Conversely a score of 99 means that pupils achieved one fewer GCSE/GNVQ point.

The final three columns show:

• a coverage indicator showing the percentage of 15 year old pupils that are included in the value added calculation;
• the average number of GCSE/GNVQs taken by pupils included in the value added calculation;
• a mobility indicator showing the percentage of pupils included in the value added calculation at the school for both KS3 and GCSE/GNVQ.

You may wish to compare the raw examination/test results of individual schools with the national averages which are shown at the top of each table.

The KS3 results were supplied by the National Data Collection Agency (NDCA) in August 2001; GCSE/GNVQ results were supplied by the awarding bodies concerned in August 2001. Both sets of results were then checked by the schools involved in the pilot in September. Some reviews of KS3 and GCSE/GNVQ results that were requested by schools were not completed in time to be included in the tables. It is therefore possible that, for some schools, the information published would have been different had the results of any reviews been available earlier.