NAHT have held a clear position that no data from tests or qualifications in 2022 should be published and have pressed this position from the very initial discussions with the Department for Education.
However, in July 2021 the government confirmed their approach to performance data in 2022.
In summary:
- Key Stage 2: Data will not be published in Key Stage 2 performance tables in the academic year 2021 to 2022. The normal suite of KS2 accountability measures at school level would be produced and shared with primary schools, academy trusts, local authorities and Ofsted.
- Key stage 4 and post-16: Results from qualifications achieved in 2021 to 2022 will be published on school and college performance tables, using the normal suite of accountability measures as far as that is possible. This data will also be shared through ASP and with Ofsted as in a normal year.
Since that announcement, NAHT have continued to lobby hard and ensure our views have been heard strongly at every opportunity and at all levels, from civil servants to the secretary of state for education.
The secretary of state for education wrote to our general secretary today, and although the government have not reversed their decision to publish, we have achieved some significant shifts in the approach to the use of this data (which also apply to KS2) and some important changes to the presentation of the data on the Compare School and College Performance website.
Use of the data
On use of the data the DfE accountability guidance says:
We recognise the uneven impact on schools and colleges of the pandemic, and will ensure clear messages are placed on performance measures website to advise caution when considering the 2021/22 data.
This will include strongly discouraging all users of the data from drawing comparisons with performance data from previous years.
We will also advise caution when comparing a school’s performance with national or local authority averages, advising users to talk to the school or college to understand the context for the results.
We will also strongly advise against direct comparisons between the performance data for one school or college and another school or college, without taking this broader context into account.
Inspectors will be clear that 2021/22 data is not comparable with earlier years and aware of the caveats on the data due to the changes to the methodology outlined in this document and the uneven impact of the pandemic on pupils and schools.
Changes to the Compare School and College Performance (CSCP) website for the 2021/22 academic year
To support appropriate use of the 2021/22 data, DfE plan to make changes to the performance measures website and the way they present school and college level data for 2021/22. They will be carrying out further work and testing over the coming months on these changes for this year, which will include:
- removing the “all schools and colleges in England” and local authority comparison tables (they will continue to show local authority and national averages for each performance measure on the individual school or college pages, and data on all schools/colleges and local authorities will still be available to download from the website),
- changing the name of the website to reduce the emphasis on comparison between institutions,
- stopping displaying pre-pandemic data (2018/19 and earlier) on the school/college pages and move these data to the usual archive with a link on the website and
- changing the way they present progress measures, by removing the coloured “bandings” to discourage simplistic conclusions being drawn about a school or college’s overall performance.
You can read the guidance in full using the links below.
First published 22 June 2022