Key information on the 2023 DfE national benchmarks for KS4 England - September 2024

Key information on the 2023 DfE national benchmarks for KS4 England - September 2024

This article gives a summary of the 2023 DfE national benchmarks for KS4 in England. These are the default benchmarks in Connect and Summit. 

Application of the 2023 DfE benchmarks 

Alps is one of the few companies to receive the DfE published the full national dataset from the 2023 examinations in England. 
There are a few key factors we considered when taking the decision to apply the dataset to Connect and Summit. 
  1. It represented the first DfE published dataset where value-added had returned to broadly pre-pandemic standards.
  2. Cohorts sitting examinations in 2023 had scaled score prior attainment, rather than the fine grades of those students in the 2019 DfE dataset.
  3. The subject coverage in the 2023 national dataset meant that there were higher numbers of students taking newer qualifications, eg the BTEC Techs, and therefore improved chances of Alps thermometer generation.
In August 2024, we completed the benchmarking analysis from this validated dataset and applied it to Connect and Summit gradepoints as follows: 
  1. The 2023 national dataset has been applied retrospectively to the gradepoints affecting the cohort sitting examinations in 2023 - all gradepoints from 1 Sept 2022 to examinations 2023. 
  2. At this stage, this 2023 DfE dataset is the most recent and therefore we feel the most valid dataset from which to base analysis of the 2023/24 cohort tracking and outcomes. Therefore the 2023 DfE dataset has been applied retrospectively from 1 Sept 2023 to examinations in 2024. 
  3. The 2023 DfE dataset is also being used to benchmark your monitoring from 1 Sept 2024, ie with current Year 10 and 11 cohorts. 

Specific subject updates to note:

  1. GCSE Art 
    1. The national dataset did not allow us to differentiate students completing the individual GCSE Art pathways for the first time
    2. We recognise that colleagues often have students completing more than one Art qualification
    3. Therefore, we retain the ability to map to Art pathways, but all Art GCSE qualifications share the Art GCSE thermometer. 
  2. BTEC Firsts
    1. There are significantly fewer entries nationally to BTEC First qualifications 
    2. Therefore we have been unable to generate thermometers for many BTEC First courses which previously did have a value-added grade. 
  3. IGCSEs 
    1. IGCSE 9-1 qualifications now share their value-added thermometers with the equivalent GCSE 9-1 qualifications. 
    2. This decision was taken following a decreasing ability to build value-added thermometers from the national datasets. 
    3. An acknowledgement that awarding bodies cite parity between their IGCSE and GCSE qualifications.

Progress 8

Colleagues should continue to upload into Connect Data all qualifications which count towards accountability measures if you wish to generate an indicative Progress 8 number over the next two years. 

Students who count towards Progress 8 and who have not sat any qualifcations will not appear in calculations unless they are assigned to at least one subject in the examination gradepoint. We would recommend that colleagues assign these students to maths and/or English Language and award an x grade. 

Connect will allow you to use either an indicative KS2 score as a baseline or a Mean SAS from CAT4. However, only the KS2 baseline will generate the indicative P8 value. More details can be found in the article below: 

In Summary 

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