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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 21st SEPTEMBER 2009
Question
Given the recent examination results from Island schools, could members be told how the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) examination results in Years 5, 7 and 9 compare with the equivalent schools across the British Isles?
On any league table of performing schools, can members be told whether Jersey schools performances were better or worse than average?
Did any schools, junior or senior, fall in the bottom three ranking league tables, and, if so, which schools? Answer
Cognitive Ability Tests are designed to assess reasoning skills and to profile the distribution of ability across a particular population. The average CAT score in a normal distribution would be 100.
If the average CAT score for a particular school was, for example, 99, an equivalent school would have a similar average CAT score. However, if a school has a selective intake, its average CAT score is likely to be higher than a school with a non-selective intake.
CAT scores are not published for individual schools anywhere in the British Isles and therefore there are no league tables of school CAT scores.
CAT scores are not based on the curriculum and therefore are less affected by teaching. For this reason they are not used to assess or monitor the performance of schools. They are used to set realistic targets for pupils and to monitor individual progress against those targets. They are also used to ensure that resources are targeted to meet additional needs.