League tables for schools

[Denn Forever]

How good is your local school?

http://trinitymirrordataresources.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/northern-ireland-schools-gadget.html

Is this it?

[Orior]

How good is your local school?

http://trinitymirrordataresources.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/northern-ireland-schools-gadget.html

Is this it?

Use the Get Data function to download it into Excel, or spreadsheet of your choice.

Much more fun.

[dec]

How good is your local school?

http://trinitymirrordataresources.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/northern-ireland-schools-gadget.html

Is this it?

Use the Get Data function to download it into Excel, or spreadsheet of your choice.

Much more fun.

The correlation between attendance percentages and good grades seems pretty strong

[CD]

I don't think the table showed students doing other exams other than GCSE's

It doesn't - this is where it all becomes murky! Not only does the data not include exams taken through other boards, school leaders can easily 'exempt' students from exams based on special needs, special circumstances or if a child is a Newcomer(less than 1/2 education in NI). The governors by and large simply approve the principals recommendations. This exemption can be made after the results have been issued. If all data was included I'd suggest the table would look slightly different. If we take it that there are roughly 120 students in each GCSE year, 1 student = 0.83 percent so it is definitely in a school's interests to exempt those children who impact negatively - even if, for those children, just 1 GCSE A-C would be a massive achievement!

[ONeill]

Keep yer child at home. Everything is on youtube and no head flushed down the toilet.

[FermGael]

Just on that, I would have thought I would have got some sort of email regarding that, as our students are under the illusion that they are achieving a C grade equivalent.

Have you got a link to that?

http://www.deni.gov.uk/performance_measures_circular_-_english.pdf

Page 3, subheading 9

Essential Skills qualifications should count as 0.25 of a GCSE, in line with
existing guidance on performance points.

[Milltown Row2]

Just on that, I would have thought I would have got some sort of email regarding that, as our students are under the illusion that they are achieving a C grade equivalent.

Have you got a link to that?

http://www.deni.gov.uk/performance_measures_circular_-_english.pdf

Page 3, subheading 9

Essential Skills qualifications should count as 0.25 of a GCSE, in line with
existing guidance on performance points.

Though it finshed off with this line:

Any proposed changes are unlikely to take effect before 2015/16, to enable
schools to plan accordingly

So has it come in with immediate effect?

[FermGael]

Yes that was noticed.
But in the sub heading 9

The Steering Group has identified a number of short-term actions that need to be applied to 2012-13 data, to clarify existing policy and ensure that achievements are reported on a consistent basis.

All that i know is that alot of universities have stopped accepting it and we have been advised that employers will follow.

[Milltown Row2]

Yes that was noticed.
But in the sub heading 9

The Steering Group has identified a number of short-term actions that need to be applied to 2012-13 data, to clarify existing policy and ensure that achievements are reported on a consistent basis.

All that i know is that alot of universities have stopped accepting it and we have been advised that employers will follow.

Universities never accepted them anyways, employers were though and that's were it hits us as a training organisation and getting kids into employment

[stibhan]

These results are very easily rigged by schools.

So they make up that students get or don't get A-C grades?

No, it's more complex than that, obviously. How many students in the school are doing 10 or 11 GCSE's, and how many are doing 5? How many students are being allowed to sit the tests in the school, and how many are turfed out beforehand because their results aren't good enough to keep the numbers up?

A lot of students believe it or not are not capable of doing GCSE's so they follow different paths, essential skills and vocational studies, BETEC's and NVQ's. If you as a teacher believe that a student is better off doing another type of exam rather than a GCSE then is it not better to put him through a achievable examination rather than one he can't do.

I don't think the table showed students doing other exams other than GCSE's

Essential skills at level 2 is equivalent to C grade at GCSE level, I don't agree with it and neither do the colleges as the work involved in achieving it is very basic.

I'm on the same page as you. I'm just explaining that these results do not give the full picture and are cooked very easily.