1. ‘Establishing educational standards and monitoring student performance – relating national and international perspectives and instruments. A perspective from England.’ 10th OECD - Japan International Seminar Tokyo, 24th June 2005
Professor David Hopkins HSBC iNET Chair of International Leadership

2. Brief History of Standards in Primary Schools
11 plus dominated
Professional control
Standards and
"Formal"
"Informal"
accountability
NLNS
2004
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010

3. KNOWLEDGE POOR KNOWLEDGE RICH
1980s Uninformed prescription
1970s Uninformed professional judgement
NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION
PROFESSIONAL JUDGEMENT
2000s Informed professional judgement judgement
1990s Informed prescription
KNOWLEDGE RICH

4. Towards Informed Prescription: National Curriculum and Tests
The Education Reform Act 1988 took control of curriculum and assessment out of the hands of local authorities and examining boards by prescribing:
a National Curriculum for all pupils of: mathematics, English and science; and history, geography, technology, music, art, physical education and a modern foreign language.
clear attainment targets: detailing the knowledge, skills and understanding pupils should gain
clear assessment procedures: comprised of national curriculum tests at 7, 11, 14 and 16
publication of results: at schools level, made available to the public

5. Developing Informed Prescription: Policy framework
Intervention in inverse proportion to success
Ambitious Standards
High Challenge
High Support
Devolved
responsibility
Accountability
Access to best practice and quality professional development
Good data and clear targets

6. National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy
Problems identified in Primary schools:
inconsistency in standards;
fragmented provision in schools;
concerns over subject knowledge;
poor links across the curriculum.
Response:
promote good classroom provision & effective management
use targets to raise expectations and aspirations;
identify, support and disseminate good practice
provide high quality training and materials to teachers over a sustained period
develop and fund effective intervention programmes

7. This map shows in red those LEAs where three quarters of their children were achieving the expected level in English in This provided the clearest possible justification for the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy, and the position in numeracy was very similar.

8. This map showed the transformation that we had achieved by 2002
This map showed the transformation that we had achieved by And this year we have gone even further…..

9. 4
This map showed the transformation that has now been achieved

10. Distribution of Reading Achievement in 9-10 year olds in 2001
575
550
525
500
475
450
425
400
375
350
325
300
The recent international PIRLS report on reading standards confirmed that we are right to describe our performance as world class.
The study showed:
Ten year olds in England are the third most able readers in the world, behind Sweden and the Netherlands
England is the most successful English-speaking country.
There has been a marked increase in our international performance since the mid-1990s. An NFER report in 1996 said that our performance would have put us close to the international average in 1991
The study also exploded a number of common myths
Teachers say that the literacy strategy has introduced pupils to a wider range of texts
Schools in England use more real books and more longer books than those in other countries.
The high performance of our children is related to the broad reading curriculum that they follow
Italy
Israel
Sweden
England
Bulgaria
Latvia
France
Cyprus
Turkey
Kuwait
Belize
Lithuania
Hungary
Germany
Scotland
Greece
Iceland
Singapore
Romania
Slovenia
Norway
Colombia
Argentina
Morocco
Netherlands
United States
New Zealand
Czech Republic
Hong Kong SAR
Slovak Republic
International Avg.
Moldova, Rep of
Russian Federation
Macedonia, Rep of
Iran, Islamic Rep of
Canada (Ontario,Quebec)
Source: PIRLS 2001 International Report: IEA’s Study of Reading Literacy Achievement in Primary Schools

11. Towards a High Excellence, High Equity Education System
560
High excellence
Low equity
High excellence
High equity
Finland
540
U.K.
Canada
520
Japan
Korea
U.S.
Belgium
500
Switzerland
Spain
Mean performance in reading literacy
Germany
480
Poland
460
Low excellence
Low equity
Low excellence
High equity
440
420 60 80
100
120
140
200 – Variance (variance OECD as a whole = 100)
Source: OECD (2001) Knowledge and Skills for Life

12. But in its third term the Government faces a range of educational challenges:
Maintaining progress in primary with the right balance between standards, curriculum breadth, learning to learn and welfare;
Accelerating performance in lower secondary education;
Achieving a settlement at 14 – 19;
Recognising that teaching quality is crucial to achievement;
Tackling underperformance at all levels;
Addressing deprivation as the root cause of low attainment.

13. National Prescription Schools Leading Reform Personalised Learning
Towards Informed Professionalism
High Excellence, High Equity
National Prescription
Schools Leading Reform
The real challenge we all face is to move the system from National Prescription  Schools Leading Reform.
As the Minister says, to move from a situation where Government delivers policy  to one that builds capacity.
This is not a chronological shift, it takes time and it is always a blend, but we want to shift the balance.
The aim is to go from a)  through b)  c). When at c) = High Excellence High Equity
a b c
Personalised Learning

14. The published response is the 5 year strategy
At 0 – 2 years old, a wide range of accessible, affordable high quality early learning and childcare
At 3 – 4 years old, flexible ‘educare’ – integrated education and childcare – to meet families’ needs
From age 5, wrap-around childcare before and after school & in school holidays
Between 5 and 14 an unrelenting focus on high standards, the acquisition of skills and the induction into a broad and rich curriculum
14-19 a wider choice of high quality programmes, and more places in popular schools

15. I interpret this to mean a renewed emphasis on the central pillars of existing reform:
Personalisation of curriculum, teaching and learning
Workforce Reform and reducing within school variation
A New Relationship with Schools
More Intelligent Accountability System
Networks to spread innovation & school in challenging circumstances
A focus on System Leadership

16. (i) Personalised Learning: Adding Value to the Learning Journey
I know what my learning objectives are and feel in control of my learning
I get to learn lots of interesting and different subjects
I can get a level 4 in English and Maths before I go to secondary school
I know what good work looks like and can help myself to learn
I know if I need extra help or to be challenged to do better I will get the right support
My parents are involved with the school and I feel I belong here
I can work well with and learn from many others as well as my teacher
I enjoy using ICT and know how it can help my learning
I know how I am being assessed and what I need to do to improve my work
I can get the job that I want
All these …. whatever my background, whatever my abilities, wherever I start from

17. 5 key components of Personalised Learning
Assessment for Learning
Inner Core
Effective Teaching and Learning
Curriculum Enrichment and Choice
Personalising the School Experience
Organising the School for Personalised Learning
Beyond the Classroom
“We need to engage parents and pupils in a partnership with professional teachers and support staff to deliver tailor made services – to embrace individual choice within as well as between schools and to make it meaningful through public sector reform that gives citizens voice and professional flexibility” (David Miliband, 18 May 2004)

18. (ii) Enhancing Professional Development through Workforce Reform
Workforce Reform is essentially about creating the conditions to deliver personalised learning:
Teachers freed to focus on teaching and learning
More professional support staff both in and outside the classroom
Teacher promotion based on classroom practice
Cutting edge ICT to revolutionise curriculum delivery and streamline “back office” systems
Getting the culture right, willingness to re-examine existing models

19. The School as a Professional Learning Community, reducing within school variation
Build in time for collective inquiry
Collective inquiry creates the structural conditions for school improvement
Studying classroom practice increases the focus on student learning
Use the research on teaching and learning to improve school improvement efforts
By working in small groups the whole school staff can become a nurturing unit
Staff Development as inquiry provides synergy and enhanced student effects

20. (iii) A New Relationship with Schools
“If we want to make personalised learning the defining feature of our education system then we need to develop a new, focussed and purposeful relationship between the DfES, LEAs and schools.”
David Miliband, Minister for Schools, North of England Speech, 9th January 2004
Planning for improvement
3 year funding
Bottom up targets
Single conversation on school’s future
School Improvement Partners
Accountability
Starts from school self-evaluation
Sharper, lighter inspection
Annual profile

21. New Relationship with Schools
Single Conversation
new School Standards Grant, combining most grants, from April 2006
bottom-up targets
multi-year, academic year budgets from April 2006
enables improvement planning and budgetary planning for the medium term
Inputs
Focus
Outputs
school’s SEF
school’s development
plan
Exceptions report on
student attainment and
equity gaps
value for money
comparisons
Data on pupil attendance
Other data
how well is the school performing?
what are the key factors?
what are the key priorities?
how is school going to get there?
head’s performance management
report to heads, GB,LEA
self assessment
priority and targets
action and support
agreed package of support inc engagement with other schools
recommendation on specialist schools resignation
advice to GB on HT appraisal

22. (iv) Towards an Intelligent Accountability framework:
Internal
External
Tests
Assessment for learning using a range of tools at all ages
Teacher assessment at KS1
External tests at KS1, KS2 and KS3. Test results published at KS2-3.
Targets
Targets for every child – part of the learning culture
Self evaluation identifies priority areas for targets & action
Use pupil performance data to inform target levels
Schools must set targets at KS2-4.
High quality data means LEA can check targets are stretching
Floor targets bite on low performers
Tables
VA & CVA help establish strengths / weaknesses relative to peers
Raw at KS2, KS3, GCSE & A-Level. VA at KS2-GCSE, & KS3-GCSE
Inspection (2005/06)
Rigorous self-evaluation throughout school required to demonstrate sound management to OfSTED.
Every 3 years at no notice. More frequent in weak schools. HMI oversee all inspections.

23. Balancing Internal and External Assessment
Formative
Assessment
for
Learning
Pupil
Achievement Tracker / FFT
Internal
External
Moderated
Teacher
Assessment
National
Curriculum
Tests
Summative

24. (v) Networks and Innovation
Networks supporting educational innovation by:
Providing a focal point for the dissemination of good practice and the agents of knowledge creation, transfer and utilisation.
Keeping the focus on the core purposes of schooling in particular creating and sustaining a discourse on teaching and learning.
Enhancing the skill of teachers.
Building capacity for continuous improvement at the local level.
Ensuring that systems of pressure and support are integrated, not segmented.
Acting as a link between the centralised and decentralised policy initiatives.

25. Intervention Strategies:
Type of School
Key elements of the offer
Leading Schools
- Funding to become leading practitioners
- Formal federation with lower-performing schools
Succeeding, self-improving schools
- Regular local networking for school leaders
- Entitlement time from consultants
Succeeding schools with internal variations
Consistency interventions: such as AfL.
Subject specialist support to particular depts.
Underperforming schools
Tailored consultancy for underperforming depts.
Underperforming pupil interventions, eg: catch-up.
Low attaining schools
Formal support in Federation structure
Consultancy in core subjects and best practice,
eg: curriculum content for low-attaining students.
Failing schools
Intensive Support Programme
New provider: eg: Academy.

26. (vi) System Leadership
If our goal is both ‘high equity and excellence’ then policy and practice has to focus on system improvement. This means that a school head or principal has to be almost as concerned about the success of other schools as he or she is about his or her own school. Sustained improvement of schools is not possible unless the whole system is moving forward.

27. Research based conclusions about successful school leadership:
Leadership has significant effects on student learning, second only to the quality of the curriculum and teachers instruction
Heads and teacher leaders provide most of the leadership in schools, but other potential sources of leadership exist
A core set of leadership practices form the “basics” of successful leadership and are valuable in almost all educational contexts
Successful school leaders respond productively to challenges and opportunities created by the accountability-oriented policy context in which they work
Successful school leaders respond productively to opportunities and challenges of educating diverse groups of students.

28. These six reforms will take the UK some of the way, but there will also be pressure to up the ante:
Segmentation, with networks and intervention better targeted at institutional need and context, including through self-evaluation.
Control and management of Demand and Supply, with:
Choice: using parental demand as a driver for improvement; and
Contestibility: expanding supply with new places in good schools, new schools and new providers.
Structural change linked to national professional practice, to ensure increasing teaching quality impacts on standards.

29. The Inside - Out Story
Reform is neither only system led nor only schools led, but necessarily both supporting each other:
Schools exist in increasingly complex and turbulent environments, but the best schools ‘turn towards the danger’
Schools adapt external change for internal purpose.
Schools should use external standards to clarify, integrate and raise their own expectations.
School benefit from highly specified, but not prescribed, models of best practice.
Schools, by themselves and in networks, engage in policy implementation through a process of selecting and integrating innovations through their focus on teaching and learning.

30. KEY STAGE CURRICULUM STRATEGIES INTELLIGENT ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK
NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH SCHOOLS
SCHOOL SPECIALISM & COLLABORATION
ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
TEACHING
CURRICULUM
STAFF DEVELOPMENT
INVOLVEMENT
LEADERSHIP
COLLABORATIVE PLANNING
POWERFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

31. PISA, International Benchmarking and a Dialogue on Large Scale reform
PISA data not only offers the opportunity for international benchmarking, but can also help develop insights into what kinds of good classroom practice, school organisation and policy levers make a difference. For example groups of relatively similar countries could:
Undertake detailed self analysis on the nature of educational provision in each country at school and classroom level;
Develop hypotheses about the impact of and identification of key drivers for system-wide educational reforms;
Conduct country level research to test hypotheses and develop policy advice;
Compare the policy advice for groups of countries at different levels of performance as measured by PISA.