Progress Measures 2023/2024

Progress 8 Score 2024

The DfE have published draft results for the Summer 2024 results including the Value Added or Progress Scores. 

Value Added scores:

School scores do not take into account any school level differences and what this means for students’ progress eg

  • If a school has a higher (or lower) number of disadvantaged or social need students than the national average
  • If a school selects by ability or through some form of testing, or does not
  • If a school’s parents have progressed to Higher Education, or have not
  • If students, after the pandemic, found it easier or harder to pick up their schooling and catch up

Progress scores are a good starting point for questions but do not tell all of the story and they do not indicate how an individual student will do at a particular school.

How has the Year 11 cohort in Summer 2024 done? And what does that mean for the school?

The overall Progress 8 score for ALL students for the Year 11 cohort 23/24 is -0.5.  Initially, this looks disappointing. The score however, does not take into account the points mentioned above or the overall context of the cohort.

What we have found out:

Attendance plays a crucial role in a student's academic progress, as demonstrated by its significant impact on Progress 8 scores. Students with higher attendance rates tend to achieve better outcomes, with the highest-performing group (90%+) significantly outperforming the others. Conversely, students with lower attendance rates (below 80%) experience a substantial decline in their Progress 8 scores. This highlights the importance of prioritising attendance and minimising absences to maximise academic achievement.

Our data shows a clear link between attendance and Progress 8 scores. Students with better attendance tend to make good progress.

There were 185 students whose results counted in the overall Progress 8 measure for the school.  Many of these students have made expected progress or better. For example:

  • 117 Students with good attendance (90% or above) achieved a Progress 8 score of 0.0. This is in line with national averages.  This was consistent across the subjects of English, Maths and Sciences. 
  • 31 Students with attendance (80-90%) achieved a Progress 8 score of -1.0.
  • 37 Students with below 80% attendance achieved a Progress 8 score of -1.7, which is significantly lower than the overall average.

 

Those with the lowest progress scores in the year group:

The 37 students who had the lowest attendance and VA scores in Oaks Park High School were a major contribution to the negative school score.  This group had an average attendance of 60% (the same as missing 2 days every week) with exam results that were nearly 2 grades below where they could have been.

We cannot, and should not, remove them from the progress scores.  However, if we put their progress scores to one side, then the school progress measure would be very different and be in line with national figures.

 

Are we different from other schools in how poor attendance has impacted upon results?

Yes and No.

Not different in that: 

All schools have had more disrupted patterns of attendance during the past few years and it is known that attendance continues to be a national issue in schools.   This particular year group missed a great deal of school during Years 7 and 8 school as follows:

  • from March 2020 to July 2020 in Year 7 (national lockdown)
  • from January 2021 to March 2021 in Year 8 (national lockdown)

 

Yes, different because:

  • Compared to national figures, the year group had more disadvantaged students with approximately 50% more than the national average figure.  This group was particularly impacted by lockdown, in terms of falling behind and with some students failing to re-engage properly with their education
  • The year group had much higher levels of social need than the normal for Sutton.  This group has again been impacted adversely during lockdown, much more so than other families.
  • Attendance of Disadvantaged students in particular is an issue.  A higher proportion of disadvantaged student in this particular cohort impacted heavily on attendance, which in turn affects outcomes.

 

 

 

Priorities for the forthcoming year:

  • Continuing to encourage all students to aim for maximum attendance.  Missing school means that students are not in school to be taught and end up with significant gaps in their knowledge and fall behind even when other work can be set.  In addition, not being in school increases safeguarding risks – whether mental health or being vulnerable to harmful influences. 
  • Using the value-added outcomes to look at particular subjects or student groups where more can be done, and putting appropriate strategies into place. 

 

Quick reference guide to Value Added Scores:

  1. The government takes the scores from KS2 exams and uses the average of the Reading and Mathematics scaled scores to give a “base line”.  (The scaled scores take the raw scores and turn them into a mark between 80 and 120.  Nationally, the Summer 2022 cohorts scored an average score of 104, with 66 percent above 100)
  1. The government put students with similar KS2 “baselines” into the same group and then average out the KS4 exam results that they get.  These average KS4 results are the  “expected” outcomes for this group ie children with the same average KS2 starting points
  2. For each student in each group, they take the “expected” outcomes and then compare these with the actual exam results the individual got.  The difference is called “value added” and may be positive (showing exam results greater than “expected”) or negative (showing exam results for the student are lower than “expected”).
  3. The government average these “value added” scores for all the students going to a particular school to get a “school score”.  This is what you see in the performance tables.