Step 2 How do we compare with similar schools?

Stage 2 - schools should compare its results with those of similar schools

The second step in the school improvement cycle is to consider how well the school is doing, shown by its pupils’ achievements, in the wider context of the performances achieved by similar pupils nationally. In order to do this, it s necessary to have available information about the performance of pupil achievement, measured using a common set of performance criteria.

For many schools, the national benchmark information enables like for like comparisons to be made. This information presents the range of performance of similar schools, grouped together on the basis of socioeconomic factors and pupils’ prior attainment.

The performance criteria used in the national benchmark information is the proportion of pupils achieving the expected National Curriculum level, or better, at the end of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, and GCSE grades and GCSE/GNVQ points scores at the end of Key Stage 4. This information enables schools to benchmark their position within the group of schools similar to their own to stimulate the questions ‘how do those better performing schools achieve what they do?’ and ‘what can we learn from those schools to raise the standards of achievement of our own pupils?’. These are important questions for all schools to ask.