Unofficial school league tables are “undermining confidence” in schools and their communities in some of Scotland’s poorest areas and leaving teachers and pupils “dispirited”, the landmark Hayward report on Scottish qualifications and assessment has found.
While the report notes that league tables are perceived by some communities “as evidence of school effectiveness”, it adds that “on the whole, they reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of schools”.
The Hayward report calls instead for a system of national surveys that will provide “high-quality data”, but which “will not drive unintended consequences”.
At the start of a section of the Hayward report on national monitoring and accountability systems, it states: “One of the most common complaints we heard during the review related to the negative impact on schools, teachers and learners of data gathering for monitoring and accountability purposes.”
It explains that gathering of data on national qualifications - such as Highers - as the main measure of school attainment “was identified as having significant, unintended washback effects”, adding: “Schools perceived themselves to be judged on this measure alone rather than on the broad range of qualifications they offered to meet the needs of all learners.”
The report notes that this type of evidence was “used by newspapers to create league tables”, which “are perceived in some communities as evidence of school effectiveness yet on the whole...reflect the socioeconomic circumstances of schools”. A number of newspapers in Scotland print unofficial school league tables using government data, with the latest example appearing today.
The Hayward report, which was published yesterday afternoon, adds that, in providing “only a partial picture of what goes on in schools, they also contribute to problems of parity of esteem” - in other words, the argument is that league tables make it harder for schools to offer a wider range of courses beyond long-established national qualifications such as Highers.
The report concedes that the Scottish government has “taken steps to try to broaden the evidence it gathers”, but “the unintended consequences remain in the system, which suggests the need for further review”.
As an example, many people who provided evidence to the Hayward review argued that “some schools, concerned to improve their metrics, advise learners to take courses that would improve school metrics rather than meet the needs of learners”.
The Hayward review team also heard that “publishing this data often had an impact on schools who were low in media-generated league tables, undermining confidence in the school in its community and leaving hardworking learners and teachers dispirited”.
As a result of the above factors, the Hayward report recommends that national monitoring and accountability systems “gather information on the breadth of achievements recognised within the SDA” - a reference to Hayward’s proposed Scottish Diploma of Achievement, which would encompass a broader range of school leavers’ qualifications, skills and experience.
The report adds: “There are alternative approaches for gathering data to inform local and national policy that do not have a negative washback effect on practice. National surveys offer policymakers a way to gather evidence that will give them high-quality data but will not drive unintended consequences of the kind described earlier in this report.”
It points out that, going back many years, there was previously a Scottish Survey of Achievement, which was “conducted over time in different areas of the curriculum while also giving information on literacy and numeracy”. It gave local authorities “the option to opt for an enhanced sample to be gathered within their authority”, as well as data that could be “compared against the national picture”.
Concluding the section addressing school league tables, the Hayward report states: “Although it is beyond the remit of this review to make recommendations on alternative approaches to national monitoring and accountability, we would urge the Scottish government to consider alternative survey-based approaches.”
