10 things about contextual value added you always wanted to know, but were afraid to ask

You've probably heard about Contextual Value Added (CVA). You might be aware that, in some way, it changes the way schools are judged. But have you got any idea what it really is? If the answer is 'no', read on!

1 In a nutshell?

You already know about good old simple Value Added (VA), where schools' raw exam results are put through a mixer to produce a score slightly above or below 1,000 (or 100 for primaries). This takes into account pupils' test results when they start school, or at the outset of a Key Stage (this is called 'prior attainment'). It shows how far schools help pupils' progress over a period of time, rather than simply the proportion of them getting five good GCSEs. Well, CVA does exactly the same thing, but takes lots more factors into account (not just prior attainment). The aim is to give an even fairer picture of how schools are doing.

2 What are the extra factors?

Take a deep breath. They are: gender, free school meals, SEN, first language, ethnicity, measures of deprivation, measures of pupil mobility, exact age, an 'in care' indicator, and the spread of abilities within the school.

3 When did this all start?

At the beginning of 2004, ministers said they wanted something 'more sophisticated' than the original Value Added measures, which had come in two years earlier, so that the playing field could be levelled even further. A national pupil census provided the detailed information that was needed. From September 2005, CVA began to be introduced into some areas of school life, but full implementation will take place during this school year.

4 Where is CVA going to be used?

It'll crop up in a variety of places. The most visible will be in the annual achievement and attainment tables, which publicise each school's exam results. Here, a CVA measure will replace the VA score. But it'll continue to be centred around 1,000. In addition, Ofsted inspectors already have a school's CVA information to refer to when visiting, and reporting on, schools.

5 Talk me through how it is applied to each school:

It's a pretty lengthy process, but here's a summary. Every year, after all exam results in England are known, the CVA data for the whole cohort (that's all 600,000 Year 11s) is used to find average scores for pupils in different CVA categories. Every individual pupil's results are then compared to the average for the category they fall into. If they get more than the average, it helps their school's CVA. If they get less, the school's CVA suffers. A school's CVA (one figure) in the 'league tables' is the result of all pupils' scores being combined. A score of more than 1,000 means that, overall, the school has performed better that most schools with a similar mix of students and factors. Under 1,000 means the performance of this group of students is below average.

6 Where can I see this in more depth?

A good place to start is your school's PANDA report, sent by Ofsted every autumn. From last September, every school's PANDA contained pages and pages of detailed breakdown on CVA. Section 2 describes the school population with reference to all the factors, and Section 3 takes in test and exam results to produce numerous CVA ratings. A good starting point is the overall CVA score for progress between the beginning of Year 7 and the end of Year 11. Delve deeper, and you can find much more detail, including CVA scores between different Key Stages, for each subject and for different groups of pupils. However, the graphs and tables can appear intimidating if it has been a while since you did GCSE maths.

7 Isn't PANDA becoming a thing of the past?

Well done! This year, PANDA is being merged with the DfES's Pupil Achievement Tracker (PAT) to create a new web-based system called RAISEonline. This will contain all the relevant CVA information for every school.

8 Tell me more about the timetable of CVA implementation:

Last year, 430 secondary schools took part in a pilot, in which their CVA scores were published in the tables, alongside the 'old' VA scores. The DfES judged this a success, reporting overwhelming support for the methodology. So the tables based on summer 2006 exams, due to be published early next year, will include CVA scores for all secondary schools. The VA scores will disappear. Primary schools are a year behind in the whole process.

9 How did the CVA scores compare with the original VA scores in the pilot schools?

Some pilot schools showed higher scores on CVA, while others had higher scores on VA. But CVA is considered a fairer measure, since it gives schools an equal chance of showing good scores, regardless of the prior attainment and individual circumstances of their intake.

10 Where can I find out more?

A guide to CVA, which goes into much more detail, can be found at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/performance. Details of last year's pilot, and how CVA will be reflected in the achievement and attainment tables in 2006 and beyond, can be seen at www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables. For information about RAISEonline, go to www.ofsted.gov.uk/
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Words: Steve McCormack Illustration: Bjorn Lie

This content was published in September 2006 and may not reflect current policy