School league tables

Argue the ideological case in favour of school league tables. (10 marks)

It is likely that many candidates will seek to define the phrase ‘school league tables’ before they move on to consider the case in favour of their use. As the phrase ‘league tables’ is included in the Key Concepts column of the Education section of this unit in the specification, it is a term that most candidates should be able to define. 

At all levels of response, candidates are likely to be aware that government-collated league tables are published annually on the basis of the performance of schools against predetermined criteria. At the higher levels of response, candidates may be aware of a range of different school league tables, for example those based on the so-called Standard Assessment Tasks (SATS) and those compiled on the basis of GCSE and A-level results. Candidates may also refer to the separate ‘league tables’ produced by many newspapers in the wake of public examination results. Though these league tables are not produced by government, they are in part a product of the competitive environment that has emerged as a result of government policy and are therefore clearly ‘on-Spec’.

When arguing in favour of school league tables, it is likely that many candidates will want to bring in issues of accountability, positive competition, parental choice and the notion of a competitive market within the maintained sector. 

When considering the notion of accountability, candidates may explore the way in which schools are held accountable for their performance through the publication of such league tables. At the higher levels of response, candidates may link this in to the scheduling of school inspections. 

When addressing issues of competition, candidates may stress the way in which the league tables allow schools to assess their own performance against that of other similar schools. In this context, candidates may wish to introduce the idea of including ‘value-added’ data when compiling such league tables.

Candidates may suggest that the publication of league tables is an essential feature of enabling parental choice in education: the idea that parents can select an appropriate school for their children by considering the relative performance of local schools. Such discussion might lead into an exploration of the idea of a competitive market in maintained education where successful schools become a ‘beacon’ for others and ‘failing schools’ are taken into ‘special measures’ and/or closed.

NB: whilst it is anticipated that candidates will focus their discussion on the use of league tables in the UK, relevant discussion of such league tables in use outside of the UK will be credited fully.

Source: AQA