§ Mr. Damian GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on academic achievement at(a) Key Stage 3, (b) GCSE and (c) A-level for pupils from pupil referral units in each academic year since 1997. [102557]
(a) Key Stage 3 Test for pupils in Pupil Referral Units in England 1997–2002 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above — — — — — — English 7 9 3 4 5 7 Mathematics 14 11 7 10 13 16 Science 10 7 3 6 10 11 Number of eligible pupils — — — — — — English 301 381 742 581 730 741 Mathematics 331 419 811 627 781 784 Science 324 406 779 599 751 778
(b) GCSE/GNVQ achievements of 15 year old pupils in Pupil Referral Units in England 1997–2002 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Percentage achieving — — — — — — 5 or more grades A*—C 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.6 1.1 1.5 1 or more grades A*—G 36.2 45.2 43.2 63.1 62.7 63.0 Number of 15 year old pupils 3,853 3,835 4,139 3,004 3,081 2,960
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 24 February, ref 96714, what assessment he has made of the impact of narrow in-school variation on value-added standards of achievement at Key Stage 3 and GCSE. [100255]
§ Mr. MilibandThe variation within schools in pupils' Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 attainment is only slightly associated statistically with the progress they make during Key Stage 3 (as indicated by the 2002 Performance Tables school-level Key Stage 2–3 Value Added measure). In general, the smaller the variation in Key Stage 2 or Key Stage 3 performance between pupils within their schools, the marginally greater the level of aggregate relative progress recorded by the value added measure. These features are also evident in the progress made during Key Stage 4.