Confused about league tables and SATs scores? Debbie Davis unravels the mystery

What are they?
The government publishes performance tables for primary schools every year. The tables usually appear in December and give the accumulated results of national curriculum tests taken by pupils in English, Maths and Science in over 16,000 schools in England. Year 6 pupils take the tests in May and they are commonly known as standard assessment tests (SATs).

To compile the performance tables, points are awarded to schools according to pupils' test results and then divided by the number of eligible pupils in each subject. This gives schools an overall score. By publishing results for thousands of schools nationally, the tables allow parents to compare the relative performance of primary schools in national curriculum tests.

As well as the school's score, the tables include information on the number of eligible pupils and the percentage of those pupils who achieved Level 4 or above in tests in English, Mathematics and Science. Level 4 is the level of achievement expected of pupils at the end of primary school.

The tables also show the percentage of pupils with special needs that may make it more difficult for schools to achieve expected levels; and the percentage of pupils who were absent or disqualified from taking tests, which can also affect a school's score. A new, value added measure attempts to iron out these variables. It gives a score for how well schools have brought pupils on from one test level to another. Results for all the children are combined into a number above or below 100. As a rough guide, statiticians put schools scoring above 102 in the top 5 per cent nationally and schools scoring below 97.9 are in the bottom 5 per cent. The range of value added scores nationally is 95.2 to 105.5.

What the government says
Without performance tables, the government argues, it would not have raised standards in literacy and numeracy: since 1998, 84,000 more 11-year-olds have achieved the expected level for their age in Maths and around 60,000 more have done so in English. Setting targets, putting strategies in place to meet those targets and then publishing the outcomes in performance tables, is absolutely central to the government's approach to improving standards.

The government rejects criticism of the tables and the compulsory tests on which they are based. 'The assessments are not pass or fail examinations - they aim to provide a measure of the child's progress in test subjects,' explains a spokesman. 'The results help parents and teachers to plan the next stage of a child's schooling.'

Tests inevitably raise stress levels, but the government argues it is better to prepare children in a low stakes environment before they have to face higher stakes public examinations later in their school career. Nor is there any need for schools to teach to the contents of the tests. Parental demand brought about the introduction of the primary tables, because tables provide the only easily accessible source of comparative performance information on schools. 'If you are considering which primary school your child might attend, you will find helpful information in the tables about the performance of schools in your area,' says the spokesperson.

What teachers say
Most teachers dislike performance tables, blaming them for a host of negative outcomes and arguing that improvements in standards could have been achieved without their introduction. Research by teaching unions shows that four in five teachers support a boycott of national tests and tables: performance tables have already been scrapped in Northern Ireland and Wales.

One of the negative consequences of tables, according to teachers, is a divisive polarisation of schools: the suggestion is that middle-class parents move their children to schools that perform well in the tables, leaving weaker ones to struggle even more. As property prices shoot up in a 'good' school's catchment area, poorer families are weeded out and society becomes increasingly divided.

Narrowing curriculum
Evidence from teaching unions that the tables have narrowed the curriculum is very strong, despite the government's claims that there is no need for teachers to train children to pass SATs in English, Maths and Science. Many teachers have succumbed to fixing their timetables to give more time for tested subjects, and less for traditional primary subjects such as drama and art. A poll of teachers earlier this term revealed that they were already setting revision for next year's SATs for 11-year-olds and that, by Christmas, an estimated 84,000 primary school children in Year 6 will be studying. Ofsted, the schools' inspector, says that schools are allocating between a quarter and a third of their time just to English. Worse than narrowing the curriculum, this year's league tables were published to widespread allegations of teachers cheating in SATs.

All this amounts to a serious deterioration in the quality of school life for both children and teachers, according to teachers. Instead of showing how they excel, SATs and performance tests are actually robbing schools of the chance to show what they are really capable of.

What iVillagers say
Discussion among ivillagers on the Primary Education Board suggests that SATs,rather than performance tables, is what concerns parents. Not many ivillagers seem to use performance tables in the way that the government intended - as a source of comparative information to help them choose the right primary school for their child. The tests on which the tables are based however are a big concern for parents. Lots of ivillagers post messages worrying that their children are missing targets. Children as young as six are being tutored at home to pass tests by parents worried their children will fall behind.

Further information
The primary school performance tables are widely published. The easiest tables to read are published by the BBC. Schools appear in alphabetical order according to their local education authority or you can search by name or postcode.

The government publishes the tables on the Department for Education and Skills website

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