Average A/AS Point Score, Contextual Value-Added or Other

[nigs]

When deciding on Sixth Fom school choices for your child (apart from visiting and getting a feel for the school), which of these would play a greater part in reaching your final decision?

1. Average A/AS points or Contextual Value-Added points (have some idea of what these are but not too sure); or
2. Number of passes at Grades A*/A per subject taken over a period of say 3 years.

I have been told that the Average A/AS points from league tables are very important but can't see how.

[hermanmunster]

presumably the A/AS scores are an indicator of the children that they have at the school + teaching + amount of work. If a children is likely to get 3 Es and goes to a school where everyone else gets 3As then they may do better than they would have done elsewhere but they may be miserable too. Also school may not be keen to take them in the first place.

[xyzzy]

presumably the A/AS scores are an indicator of the children that they have at the school + teaching + amount of work. If a children is likely to get 3 Es and goes to a school where everyone else gets 3As then they may do better than they would have done elsewhere but they may be miserable too. Also school may not be keen to take them in the first place.

Conversely, a school which does a fantastic job of getting people with weak GCSEs through good-ish A Levels may not be the right place for someone with strong GCSEs looking to get a bunch of A*s at A2. There's a tacit assumption in CVA that there's a readacross between the two situations, and that "doing better at A2 than you did at GCSE" is the same for different GCSE starting points. But it's not necessarily true. It would be very interesting to see CVA broken down by initial level, but there are few schools large enough to do that in a way which is statistically even remotely significant. Doing an amazing job of getting ESL students with poor KS2 results through 5 GCSEs at C or better will make for a high CVA, but may or may not be relevant to pupils in other situations.

[Guest55]

The Government has abolished CVA as a measure of progress ...

[workhard]

Ignore school statistics. I am afraid they usually mean little and can often be misleading. ( Of the schools I have worked in, my favourite and the 'best' had the worst statistics, the worst Ofsted rating, the warmest atmosphere, a truly inclusive ethos, the most likeable kids, the richest intellectual and cultural life and the highest proportion of amazing teachers.)

Find kids similar to your own, kids who have done well and been broadly happy. Yes, get a feel for their school, probe the Head of Sixth Form a little, talk to some A level teachers. Find teachers there with kids of their own, talk about those teachers' values. .... You will know what is right for your child soon enough.

Who knows, your child may even agree with you, especially if they have a chance to chat openly to other kids away from you and away from staff. (We learnt this at 11+ time with our own child.)

I know how hard it can be. Good luck to you both!

WH

[workhard]

Ignore school statistics. I am afraid they usually mean little and can often be misleading. ( Of the schools I have worked in, my favourite and the 'best' had the worst statistics, the worst Ofsted rating, the warmest atmosphere, a truly inclusive ethos, the most likeable kids, the richest intellectual and cultural life and the highest proportion of amazing teachers.)

Find kids similar to your own, kids who have done well and been broadly happy. Yes, get a feel for their school, probe the Head of Sixth Form a little, talk to some A level teachers. Find teachers there with kids of their own, talk about those teachers' values. .... You will know what is right for your child soon enough.

Who knows, your child may even agree with you, especially if they have a chance to chat openly to other kids away from you and away from staff. (We learnt this at 11+ time with our own child.)

I know how hard it can be. Good luck to you both!

WH