Allocation/inclusion of students to schools and colleges in KS5 performance tables
This article has been compiled to help 4Matrix customers understand how and when students are allocated to a school or college for reporting purposes.
Students included in KS5 performance measures.
The DFE states that “Students’ results are reported in 16 to 18 performance measures only once at the point at which they have completed 16 to 18 study.” (Ref: 16 to 18 accountability measures: (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Essentially, this means that students completing their first year of Level 3 study are not reported in performance measures. Most students complete a 2-year KS5. Their results are reported at the end of this period, which is typically on reaching the end of Year 13.
However, there are some exceptions to the above, including students who deviate from the ‘standard’ entry pattern. It is important to understand which students are included in 16-18 performance measures and when.
How does the DFE allocate students?
Results are allocated on an annual basis to the school or college where the student has enrolled to take their main course of study, as recorded from the below 3 data sources:
1 1. The Spring School Census which returns student-level information and is used to identify 16 to 18 students on-roll in state-funded schools.
2. The ILR which is used to identify 16 to 18 students ‘on-roll’ in colleges determined by where the student studied their main course of study.
3. Awarding organisation data - for schools or colleges that do not return the spring school census or ILR i.e., independent schools.
On completion of KS5, results are reported against one, two or three schools or colleges, reflecting the courses of the student in the year(s) they were allocated to that school or college.
So, if a student studies an academic pathway at one school in year 12 but moves to a college on a vocational pathway in year 13, the academic achievement is allocated to the school and the vocational achievement is allocated to the college, when the student completes 16-18 study.
If a student studies in 2 different schools or colleges in the same academic year, all results taken in that year will be allocated to the main school or college, irrespective of where they were taken. So, if the student is allocated to the school (due to the Spring Census enrolment status of ‘current’), all their results are attributed to the school, including any results studied elsewhere. This may mean qualifications not offered by the school are reported against them.
Criteria for Inclusion in Performance Measures – Part 1
According to the DFE, to qualify for inclusion in performance measures (and therefore reporting in the sub-performance cohorts, for example, Academic or Applied General), a student must first meet one of the below criteria:
a) they have been entered for at least 2 qualifications at least the size of an A level, or for at least 1 qualification the size of at least 2 A levels, in the reporting year.
OR
b) they are 18 at the start of the reporting year i.e., September 2022 for the 2023 current reporting year and have not been reported in 16 to 18 performance measures already.
Most students will meet criteria a. However, some may fall into criteria b if they are studying a 3-year vocational course or have completed resits in year 12 to qualify for a level 3 programme which they will finish at the end of Year 14.
Some students will also meet criteria b if they are 18 in the September of the reporting year and had not had their results previously reported on. This will mean a student could complete KS5 with a qualification of any size i.e., an AS Level.
Our final example here is that a student completing a single A Level qualification at the end of Year 13 will not automatically be eligible for inclusion in that year’s performance tables. Most likely, the student will be 18 at the start of the next academic year, and therefore contribute to the following year’s performance tables.
Criteria for inclusion in Performance Measures – Part 2
Once you know which students will be included, the next consideration is determining which students meet the criteria for each sub-performance cohort.
The sub-performance cohorts in the 16 to 18 performance measures are:
• A level
• Academic
• Applied general / Tech level.
A student eligible for reporting in 16 to 18 performance measures will also need to meet criteria for each sub-performance cohort to be included in that measure. For example, to be included in the A Level category, the student must have been entered for at least an AS Level qualification – further details are below.
In all performance cohorts discounting is applied to attainment measures at 16 to 18. Discounting is primarily about ensuring that where a student has taken more than one qualification in the same subject area, performance measures only give credit to institutions once for teaching a single course of study.
A level cohort
To be included in the A level performance cohort the student must have been entered for at least one of the following qualifications in the academic years:
GCE A level
• Applied GCE A level single award.
• Applied GCE A level double award.
• GCE AS level
• Applied GCE AS level single award.
• Applied GCE AS level double award.
Academic
The A level category is a sub-set of the academic category. Therefore, the qualifications listed above will also be reported as in the academic category.
To be included in the academic performance cohort, the student must have entered for one of the following qualifications, which must be equivalent in size to at least 0.5 A levels with the exception of the extended project, which although smaller is still include:
GCE A level
· Applied GCE A level single award.
· Applied GCE A level double award.
· GCE AS level
· Applied GCE AS level single award.
· Applied GCE AS level double award.
· International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB)
· IBO Standard level component
· Diploma Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay and Reflective Project*
· Pre-U Principal Subject
· Pre-U Short Course Subject
· Pre-U Diploma
· Extended Project (Diploma)
· Advanced Extension Award
· Core Maths Qualifications at level 3
Applied general and tech level cohort.
To be included in the applied general or tech level performance cohort, the student must have entered for at least one of these qualifications in the academic years they have been allocated to that school or college.
The lists of vocational and technical qualifications that count in performance measures can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores
How does 4Matrix work with this methodology?
Allocation:
In relation to which students are allocated to your school or college, 4Matrix relies on the user importing students included on their Spring census, ILR, exam entries and in consultation with their Head of 6th Form.
When users are importing their exam results series they will need to consider if their series is to show all exams results received that summer, in which case running an MIS extract would be appropriate.
However, if the intention is to include all students and all results which will be allocated and counted in the school for performance measures for that year4Matrix Admin users will need to mark students ‘on’ and ‘off roll’ using the admin > Edit Pupils tool. Marking a student as ‘off roll’ will exclude the student from all tools/measures, effectively treating the student as if they had not been imported into that series at all.
Schools and colleges may wish to consider if they will then have 2 results series.
For example:
1. For all KS5 results received that summer from current year 13
2. For all students and results that will be included in DFE published performance measures for KS5 for the year in question.
Schools that upload their results into Fusion should contact their Fusion trust administrator to clarify what their trust would like.
If you need further guidance, please contact us for help.
Performance Measures:
4Matrix will automatically calculate which students count in the individual sub-performance cohorts of A level, Academic and Applied General/Tech, for example, 4Matrix will automatically include any students with at least an AS level result in the A level performance cohort as they meet the performance cohort criteria.
The exceptions to the above are:
· Best 3 A Levels
· Level 3 Maths
Both the above measures require specific entry rules.
Students can be excluded from the Best 3 A Levels measure if they have only been at a provider for one year, unless they have entered for three A levels. 4Matrix is not able to determine each student's start date with the provider and for this reason, it is possible to manually edit the inclusion status for this measure for each student in the admin > Edit Markbook tool.
The Level 3 Maths measure shows the percentage of students who achieved GCSE maths at grade 4 or above by the end of key stage 4, who go on to achieve an approved level 3 maths qualification.
In 4Matrix all students are deemed to be ‘In Scope’ for this measure although this may not necessarily be true. 4Matrix is not able to determine ‘banked’ GCSE grades from other series, and for this reason, it is possible to manually edit the inclusion status for this measure for each student using the admin > Edit Markbook tool.
We hope that our users find this information useful. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further guidance in relation to this article.
Article revised: 08/06/2023.