3.3.1

Measuring Educational Success

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Measuring Educational Success

Educational achievement is how a pupil is doing with regards to academic attainment. This is measured in several ways.

National curriculum

National curriculum

  • The national curriculum was introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988.
  • Its aim was to ensure the same content and standards in education across the nation.
SATs

SATs

  • (Standard Assessment Tests).
  • SATs are tests taken initially by 7-year-old pupils at the end of Key Stage 1 in reading, writing and Maths.
  • Then these tests are taken again by the 11-year-old pupils in English and Maths.
SATs cont.

SATs cont.

  • The results obtained at the end of Key Stage 2 are compiled to make the primary school league tables.
  • League tables are a measure of performance of pupils based on their exam results.
GCSEs

GCSEs

  • (General Certificate of Secondary Education.)
  • GCSEs were introduced in 1988.
  • GCSE exams are taken by 16-year-old pupils are the end of Key Stage 4.
GCSEs cont.

GCSEs cont.

  • The pupils are awarded a grade for each subject.
  • Until 2017 the grades were A*-G but since then it has changed to a numerical ranking and it is now 9-1.
  • GCSEs are public examinations. This means that they are set by a central examining body.

Measuring Educational Success

Educational achievement is how a pupil is doing with regards to academic attainment. This is measured in several ways.

EBacc

EBacc

  • (English Baccalaureate).
  • EBacc is a performance measure which is awarded when pupils secure at least a grade C in five core subjects:
    • English.
    • Maths.
    • Sciences.
    • Languages.
    • History or geography.
Progress 8

Progress 8

  • Progress 8 was introduced in 2016.
  • This is a performance measure for secondary schools where they try to gauge the progress of pupils from the end of primary school until the end of secondary.
GCEs/ A levels

GCEs/ A levels

  • (Advanced Level).
  • A Level exams are taken by 16- to 19-year-old pupils.
  • Initially, pupils had to study 4 subjects at AS level and 3 subjects at A level.
  • This has changed to a two-year linear course.
A level reforms

A level reforms

  • The latest reform was in 2015 when the A levels were divided in AS and A level.
  • Pupils will either sit the AS exam or if they decide to do the whole A level course they can sit the AS exams at the end of the first year but that won’t count towards their overall grade.
  • The results are put into league tables and are a measure of performance.
Jump to other topics
1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation
1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism1.2.2Marxism 21.2.3Functionalism1.2.4Feminism
1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach
2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family2.1.2Marxist Views on Family2.1.3Feminist Views on Family
2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family2.2.3Families in a Global Context2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms
2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles
2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline2.4.2Domestic Abuse2.4.3Symmetrical Family
2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families2.5.2Marxist Views of Families2.5.3Feminist Views of Families2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families
2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate2.6.2Consequences of Divorce2.6.3Functionalist Views2.6.4Marxist Views2.6.5Feminist Views2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce
3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives3.1.3Types of School3.1.4Alternative Education3.1.5State & Private Schools
3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes3.2.2External Processes
3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success3.3.2Social Class & Education3.3.3Social Class & External Factors3.3.4Gender & Education3.3.5Ethnicity & Education3.3.6Parental Choice3.3.7History of UK Education Policy3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education
4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime
4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control4.2.2Formal Social Control4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime
4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime4.3.2Social Class & Crime4.3.3Gender & Crime4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime4.3.5Age & Crime4.3.6Criminal Responsibility4.3.7The Prison System4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime
4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism5.1.3Socio-Economic Class5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 25.1.5Life Chances5.1.6The Affluent Worker5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion
5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty5.2.3Explanations of Poverty5.2.4Impact of Globalisation5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue
5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber5.3.2Sociological Perspectives5.3.3Power Relationships5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority
6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

Practice questions on Measuring Educational Success

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  1. 1
    In which year was the national curriculum introduced?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    When were GCSEs introduced?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    The EBacc (English Baccalaureate) is awarded when students secure at least a grade C in five subjects:Fill in the list
  4. 4
    In which year was Progress 8 introduced?Multiple choice
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External Processes

Social Class & Education