Share & Compare: Data Collaboration for Summer 2023
Updated: 4th July 2023
Our annual data collobaration exercise Share & Compare is back...
Register now for S&C 2023 in 4Matrix, by going to Admin > Share & Compare. You do not need to re-register if you took part in 2022, however, we recommend trying your credentials and resetting your password if you can't login. If you are new to S&C, use the register link and follow the prompts.
S&C will open at 09:30 on Thursday 24th August for schools to submit their anonymised KS4 results data to us. Once we have received enough data, we will publish a set of Attainment 8 Estimates for schools to use well in advance of the DfE's provisional set.
In 2022, the final set of comparative data was based on:
Schools - 562
Pupils - 94,524
Results - 840,776
As per previous years, you must upload your own school's data to access the comparative data.
What will the S&C data allow us to do?
As soon as we have received data from enough schools, 4Matrix will publish provisional Attainment 8 estimates.
In 2019, the final set of 4Matrix Share & Compare data from 499 schools included Attainment 8 estimates which were, on average, within 2% of the official DfE figures published in January 2020.
Data Validation and Accuracy
Because 4Matrix works by mapping results to QAN codes and because all results are validated by the 4Matrix import routines, we will be able to quickly and accurately combine data from schools running a wide variety of qualifications.
Another important factor is the validity of key stage 2 data which is used to generate Attainment 8 estimates. 4Matrix has a specific import routine for data obtained from GIAP, which contains the actual Scaled Scores achieved by pupils.
How to get involved
You will not need to register for Share & Compare 2023 if you took part in 2022, however, you may wish to check and validate your login credentials by logging into the S&C tool as soon as possible.
The registration process is detailed in the 'S&C Mini Guide' - link above.
On results day (after following embargo advice from the JCQ), open the Share & Compare tool and follow the prompts to upload your anonymised data.
JCQ note: Results imported into 4Matrix do not leave the school and are therefore not subject to the JCQ regulations. As always, our users can import, view and analyse their data internally on embargo day, and restrict to Admin access only, either during series import or using the Edit Series tool.
How does it work?
The Admin tab in 4Matrix includes an option for Share & Compare.
In the Admin Share & Compare tool, the 4Matrix Admin user will be prompted to register prior to uploading/downloading data. The main reason for this is so that schools can remove their data from our server if they are required to do so at any point. Note that removing your data before the S&C exercise has closed could result in your school not receiving the latest S&C data. Requiring a registration also prevents multiple users from the same school uploading the same data more than once. Each school can only have 1 registered user for the Share & Compare service.
The registration process will simply confirm the school's 4Matrix ID and require the user to provide a unique email address and username, so that they can log in to the Share & Compare Admin tool. Registration can be completed at any time but we recommend this is done prior to Results Day.
Once registered, on results day, the user can login to the Share & Compare tool and preview the data that will be sent to 4Matrix, submit their data, and check for the most recent set of published Share & Compare comparative data.
Please note that as part of the data validation process, 4Matrix will check subject mappings at the point of data upload. Only qualificatons that are approved for the 2023 performance measures will be included with the upload.
Share & Compare comparative data will be published periodically according to the number of schools that have submitted their data. We will email registered users when a new set of data becomes available.
GDPR
There shouldn't be any GDPR issues associated with the Share & Compare exercise because no personal information is collected as part of the upload. Any data which is sent to us will be anonymised – no pupil names, UPNs, or address details will be included. Some pupil characteristics will be included to allow us to provide comparisons between key groups e.g. males and females, pupil premium and non-pupil premium, free school meals and non-free school meals. The only unique identifier will be the 4Matrix School ID, which is required for us to validate which schools have contributed. The School ID will not be shared or included in the data that is subsequently passed back to schools, etc. A complete list of the fields we will collect is included at the end of this document.
The data will be processed by us before distributing among schools, which means that users will receive a set of Attainment 8 estimates and average scores and pass rates for comparison in 4Matrix. There will be no way to see which schools have contributed or view individual school data in the data that is subsequently passed back into 4Matrix for comparison.
As stated above, the option to download Share & Compare estimates will be limited to those schools who have submitted their data to us.
Where is the date stored?
4Matrix will store the anonymised school data on a virtual private server.
What happens to the data once S&C has finished?
4Matrix will store the anonymised data for one year. The processed data will also remain in each school’s database that has received the Share & Compare data for comparison.
Provisional 2023 fields for collection:
EM Threshold Entered
EM Threshold Both 5+
EM Threshold En 5+
EM Threshold Ma 5+
EM Threshold Both 4+
EM Threshold En 4+
EM Threshold Ma 4+
P8 Entered
P8 Baseline
P8 Score
P8 Positive
P8 En Score
P8 Ma Score
P8 EBacc Score
P8 Other Score
A8 Score
A8 En Score
A8 Ma Score
A8 EBacc Score
A8 Other Score
EBacc Entered
EBacc APS
EBacc Entries
EBacc Eng Score
EBacc Ma Score
EBacc Sci Score
EBacc Hum Score
EBacc Mfl Score
EBacc Entries 4
EBacc Entries 5
EN Points
MA Points
A8 Entries
A8 En Entries
A8 Ma Entries
A8 EBacc Entries
A8 Other Entries
A8 Other Entries GCSE
A8 Other Entries NonGCSE
A8 Other Score GCSE
A8 Other Score NonGCSE
KS2 Scaled Score in English Reading
KS2 Scaled Score in Mathematics
KS2 Scaled Score in GPS
EBacc Eng Entered
EBacc Ma Entered
EBacc Sci Entered
EBacc Hum Entered
EBacc Mfl Entered
Subject QAN
Subject Discount Code
Subject Grade, Per Pupil
Terms and Conditions
- When you use our Share and Compare service you will supply us with anonymised data.
- This data is not personalised and therefore should not create any issues which would lie outside of your school's GDPR policy and our data sharing agreement.
- By uploading your data to 4Matrix for use in the Share and Compare exercise, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree with the following terms and conditions:
- You have read and understood the JCQ guidance on embargoing your results data.
- You have the authority and permission to share your school’s data with us
- You give us permission to use your school's anonymised data for the Share and Compare exercise.
- Your data will be processed and only the totals and averages of all contributing schools will be shared with other 4Matrix schools.
- Once submitted, your data can be removed from the Share and Compare exercise, but you will not recieve any further Share and Compare comparative data sets unless you upload your data again.
- It is possible to overwrite the data submitted to 4Matrix e.g. to correct errors. Checks will be in place to ensure that duplicate uploads contain data and a similar number of pupils.
- Users should always independently verify the totals appearing in 4Matrix products before reporting results. 4Matrix do not accept any responsibility for the consequences of results that are reported which are subsequently found to be incorrect for any reason - including the possibility of calculation errors in 4Matrix itself.
- 4Matrix reserve the right to discontinue or amend the services described above at any time and without notice.
- Our full terms and GDPR policy can be accessed at: www.4matrix.com/terms