Which benchmark should I use? KS5 ENGLAND - AUGUST 2024
In this article we outline the composition of the two benchmark sets available in Connect and Summit for Key Stage 5 England from 22 August 2024 onwards.
It is designed to be read by Trust Leaders, Senior Leaders in schools and colleges and Leaders in Local Authorities.
The article will take you through the value-added narrative which has resulted from the pandemic years, and present you with options as to how you analyse your post-pandemic progress.
We urge you to read the whole article, as there are important implications for the use of the benchmark tools in the Connect and Summit platforms. It is not a simple solution, but we feel it important to give you flexibility in making decisions over how you choose to look at your data.
Headline summary:
- Examination analysis: The value-added context for your Year 13 this summer is again unique. We recommend using the client benchmarks in Connect and Summit when making judgements on strategic priorities from the 2024 results.
- Target setting and monitoring in September: incoming Year 13 students are likely to see the value-added context return to one similar to the 2019 national dataset. We suggest that the 2019 benchmark is the most relevant to this cohort.
- The way in which our benchmark tools have to operate leaves you with some decisions as to whether you switch your benchmark, and when you switch.
National context 2019 to 2025
2019 - Pre- pandemic
2024 examination context - the GCSE+ cohort
Your examination results for Year 13 students in 2023/24 have a unique value-added profile:
- Students in Year 13 for 2023.24 sat GCSE examinations in 2022. Outcomes were elevated, therefore their prior attainment is also elevated.
- Examination outcomes for this cohort have moved back towards 2019 standards, although remain slightly higher, more similar to 2023 outcomes.
As their situation is unique, we recommend that the 2024 Alps provider benchmark will represent the fairest comparative benchmark on which to base your analysis of results, and on which to base your priorities going forward. Using the 2019 default benchmark for this cohort is likely to result in your analysis being slightly more 'blue' than it may end up when compared to Alps provider benchmarks generated from 2024 results.
The Alps provider benchmark are available in Connect and Summit and were released on 22 August.
The 2025 and beyond context
Your incoming Year 13 students are set to return to a profile similar to 2019:
- Students in Year 12 for 2024.25 sat GCSE examinations in 2023 where standard returned towards 2019 levels.
- Examination outcomes for this cohort are likely to remain at a level similar to 2019.
Therefore, the 2019 national dataset would be the most likely choice when monitoring this cohort across their KS5 courses.
Summary of value-added contexts
The last piece of the puzzle - composition of each benchmark set by cohort.
The tables below show which datasets are applied to which benchmark for which Academic Year.
- When using the national 2019 benchmark: This has been applied across all gradepoints, including monitoring and examinations from 2018/19 outcomes onwards.
- When using the Alps provider benchmark:
- All gradepoints up to and including examinations 2020/21 are analysed against the national 2019 datatset.
- All gradepoints across 2021/22 will be analysed against the 2022 Alps provider benchmark.
- All gradepoints across 2022/23 will be analysed against the 2023 Alps provider benchmark.
- All gradepoints across 2023/2024 and beyond (monitoring for 2024/25 will use the 2024 Alps provider benchmark.
This is complex, but the grid is necessary to support you in understanding the context in which you are viewing your analysis. The highlighted cells indicate our recommended benchmark for each cohort.
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