Tackling educational inequality - CentreForum

Tackling educational inequality
Figure 2: Percentage of pupils achieving level 4+ At Key
Stage 2, 1995-2006
English
Mathematics
100
% achieving level 4+ at Key Stage 2
80
60
Floor target
40
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Source: DfES, National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 2 in England, 2006
(Revised), December 2006
At Key Stage 3, the picture is one of continued progress in terms of
pupils achieving the expected level 5 or above (see figure 3). However,
the proportion achieving the national target is lower than at earlier Key
Stages. It is possible that once attainment at Key Stage 3 reaches levels
similar to those at Key Stages 1 and 2, progress will also falter.
Progress has also been made at Key Stage 4 (GCSEs and equivalents),
with the percentage of pupils attaining five good GCSEs rising from
44 per cent in 1997 to 59 per cent in 2006. Here too, however, the
proportion of students reaching the floor target is significantly lower
than at earlier stages of education, despite the widespread perception
that GCSEs have become easier to obtain.
This perception has been fuelled by the inclusion of GNVQs in GCSE
statistics as equivalent vocational qualifications. Intermediate GNVQs
at any grade count as four good GCSEs: a pupil now needs only one
GCSE plus one GNVQ to meet the five good GCSE benchmark. There is
evidence that some schools have encouraged the uptake of GNVQs to
boost their place in the league tables. 1
In fact, it was recently revealed
that nine of the ten schools ranked as the most improved in GCSE passes
achieved this via the vocational route. When GNVQs are excluded, the
nationwide percentage of pupils gaining five good GCSEs has stalled at
around 50 per cent for the past four to five years (see figure 4).
10