UCL Centre for Educational Evaluation and Accountability (www.educationalevaluation.net)
Accountability and school differential effects
Inspection systems consider how effective a school is in determined academic subjects, such as Maths and English. Yet, schools tend to be inconsistently effective when considering different outcomes, different cohorts over time, or when teaching specific groups of students (classified for example by ethnicity, previous attainment and SES). Some schools are particularly effective for promoting the progress of low-ability students, but not high-ability, or vice versa.
Should accountability systems consider the strengths and weaknesses of each school or expect the same standards for all? Is it enough to say ‘this school is effective’ or should be added ‘when teaching this student group or subjects’? As school effectiveness seem to be a relative rather than an absolute matter, how could this be better reflected in accountability systems?