Statistics: A game of numbers...

So back to my journey of discovery with Lord Adonis showing me the academy way!  Well the last chapter I read promised to make it clear to me why academies succeed however I soon discover the statistic being leaned against is that two thirds of the earliest opened academies visited by Ofsted are graded good or outstanding, but this could just as easily be said that a third of them are not good enough given satisfactory is no longer an acceptable standard.  The data, readers are assured goes on to tell us that the early academies are more successful than the later ones.  This concerns me considerably as I would anticipate that reviews of experience would impact the model of learning and ensure each new academy built further on the success of the previous ones, but no indeed it would appear that the early academy schools were flagship enterprises where additional focus and determination ensured they were the most successful, but the later ones commanded less public glory and have therefore gone on to be less so impressive, maybe they benefited from a lesser supply of additional funding and the crucial selection of governance support that Mr Adonis suggests is one of the key factors of an outstanding school.  So once we include all academies in the data from Ofsted it is clear that only half of them are graded good or outstanding.  It is intriguing that Lord Adonis does not use the word only in his version of that sentence  he states the statistic as if it is a good thing.  I have to be honest I have for too long worked in establishments where just over 50% achieving some measure or other was seen as a good thing and yet it truly is not.  Let's apply this measure to other aspects of our lives, for example if you baked 20 cakes and only 10 or 11 were edible would you say you had baked well?  If you had the tyres of your car changed and only 2 of them had been put on properly would you class your garage as successful? Would you equally be impressed with your local dry cleaners if they managed to correctly clean and press just over half the suits you sent in, or with your supermarket delivery if they brought  half of the things you ordered to your door packed among a pile of other unwanted goods.  So you get my point no doubt that this idea that 50 something percent is a good measure because it is more than half, is truly just not good enough.  For me the vast majority need to be doing well, thats 70% plus in statistical terms, and next time someone boasts of their glory that 54% achieved a specific measure of achievement dont miss the chance to ask what they are doing for the almost half that didn't manage to achieve that success?

In fact not only does the good Lord attempt to convince me that this measure of 50% achieving good or outstanding is the beginning middle and end of successful schools he also only manages a passing mention of other aspects including attendance rates, exclusion rates, which seem to be a taboo subject around academies, and no reference to the place the academy holds within the local community.  None of these seem to be measures of great importance to be placed beside the Ofsted rubber stamp mark.  He proudly describes schools where students wear smart uniforms (blazers and ties) and sixth formers wear suits, students line up at the end of breaks and stand every time a member of staff comes into a classroom.  Oh the tired stayed traditional mind numbing ways of the olden days when individuality and self managing behaviour and manners were yet to be discovered for their learning, growth and development benefits.  In fact he even goes as far as to quote one Academy head who's mantra to his students is 'the street stops at the gates'. This blatant acknowledgement that the world outside of the school is rotten and not worthy of being brought into the confines of the school is of course repeatedly trashing the place in which these young people live every day of their lives.  I have proudly lived within the community of my schools as have many of my colleagues and this close link to the world around us makes the difference in my opinion between a factory in which young people come to receive exam grades and then clock off again at the end of a daily shift and a place of learning, sharing and caring where the school and it's community work seamlessly together.  Agreed it is not always an easy relationship and some difficulties from the street can be challenging when brought into the playground and corridors but better that we face difficult challenges together side by side with our young people than build a fence and lock them out to deal with it alone after the home time bell.

The only aspect of this chapter investigating the success of Academies that I can fail to find fault with is the suggestion that excellent governance is one of the keys to the success of this style of school.  It cannot be argued that removing schools from the control of the local authorities would be anything other than a positive move.  To stop wasting the time of professionals working hard to provide a top quality value for money service to our young people by asking them to constantly meet to discuss targets and progress towards those targets with people who have no classroom experience at all can only be to the benefit of all involved. The decisions to allow a director of education who has barely set foot in a secondary school in her five years in post to have a say in the selection of headteachers for the schools within that Borough produces no shock or surprise when poor selections are made and taxpayers money is used repeatedly to remove inadequate leaders from post after sometimes short periods of clear lack of expertise and the consequential upheaval to the school and its community.  So yes I am in agreement that strong governance can make all the difference, skilled governors who really understand the process of learning and developing well rounded individuals ready for the challenges of complex societies.  But to suggest that academies are the blueprint for success based on half of them being good or outstanding and most of them being better than the failing schools they removed is utter nonsense and has not convinced me of their merits as a future solution in the way Lord Adonis describes his ambition for them.  As the young people themselves would tell you if you asked them if they learned anything from your lesson today if half of them said they had they would be looking with worry at the other half that had failed to progress.  But this chapter has prompted a lot more questions for me that I am researching hard for schools of all types across London and will be reporting my findings on this blog soon so watch this space for more statistical magic to come.!