§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the merits of the value added methodology used(a) in his Department's evaluation of the performance of specialist schools and (b) in the 2002 secondary school performance tables; and if he will make a statement. [116503]
§ Mr. MilibandThe value added methodology used in the secondary school performance tables in 2002 has been developed over a number of years, and following extensive consultation with schools and other stakeholders. We continue to keep our approach under review.
Our evaluation of the merits of specialist schools takes account of all the evidence we have seen, including the Department's value added measures and those used by Professor David Jesson (University of York) in his analysis of specialist schools performance.