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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE BY SENATOR B.E. SHENTON
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 8th SEPTEMBER 2009
Question
Can the Minister give a detailed breakdown of grades attained at GCSE Level by the students of the non-fee paying schools only including details of students that got U grades, together with a short analysis of how these results compared with the UK national average?
Answer
As I have indicated in my response to Senator Shenton's question in relation to A' level results and Hautlieu, the policy is not to publish the results of individual schools as I do not wish to create the opportunity for the development of league tables because they are divisive and do not compare like with like.
Undue pressure can be placed on schools and lead to serious side effects. The introduction of league tables in England led to:
- a sharp increase in exclusions as there has been less incentive for schools to work with disaffected pupils;
- a narrow focus on teaching to the test at the expense of broader educational objectives;
- increased competitiveness between schools at the expense of collaboration.
We may not be following England in this respect but we are in step with other parts of Europe. League tables have been abolished in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. In France the publication of results on a school by school basis is not allowed. In the Netherlands, Singapore and Spain, examination results are used by schools to compare their own performances but not published.
To compare the performance of the non-fee paying sector against the national average for the UK which includes all maintained and independent sector schools is an unfair comparison. Conclusions drawn from such comparisons are likely to be misleading.
I would be prepared to discuss the performance of any individual school or sector with any States Member or any parent. However, it is my policy not to publish raw examination results for individual schools because this could lead to the publication of league tables which are divisive, crude and give a distorted view of performance. League tables do not compare like with like.