This new research paper by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), calls for multi-academy trusts and other school groups to be judged on a wider range of measures relating to pupil inclusion to allow for more informative comparisons.
School groups – such as academy trusts, federations, dioceses and local authorities – are a central fixture of England’s school system today. Previous research has measured the effectiveness of these groups, but this has mainly focused on pupil progress and attainment.
The EPI paper, which is sponsored by the National Education Union (NEU), argues that solely focusing on these measures has serious limitations and can lead to exclusionary practices, such as not admitting vulnerable children, excluding them or “off-rolling” them before they sit their GCSEs.
As part of a wider project which aims to highlight effective school groups, the research paper proposes that school groups should be judged on positive examples of pupil inclusion, alongside progress and attainment.
The inclusion measures proposed – based on school choice, attendance and exclusions and pupil achievement – would serve as a means for school groups to benchmark their progress against others and identify improvements.
- Introduction
School groups in England
Measuring pupil inclusion in school groups
- School choice and admissions
What we know from existing research, data and methodological considerations
Our proposed metrics
Option 1: Odds ratios
Option 2: Logistic regression
- Attendance and exclusions
What we know from existing evidence
Absence and formal exclusion
Unexplained exits
In-year admissions
Our proposed metrics
Persistent absence
Repeated fixed period exclusion
Permanent exclusion
Unexplained exits
In-year admissions
- Pupil achievement
What we know from existing evidence
Our proposed metrics
Closing attainment gaps
Pupil attainment
Sustained destinations following 16-18 study
- Methodological considerations – all metrics
Contending with small numbers
Within-group variation
Contextualisation
Accounting for differing pupil intakes between school groups
Placing results in context of the national distribution
- Presenting our results: Radar plots
- Consultation: How to give feedback
- Consultation questions
- References