This publication sets out areas where DfE is interested in more research and new evidence2. Given the broad policy agenda of the department it is not practical to provide an exhaustive list of research questions of interest. Instead this is a targeted list of areas which are both key departmental priorities and where we feel the research community is currently well placed to add to our evidence base. In terms of approaches to answer the questions, we are interested in both primary qualitative and quantitative research, secondary data analysis, and literature reviews/synthesis of existing evidence. For all questions we are interested in international perspectives and what has worked, or not, in other countries. For all our questions we are interested in how results differ for relevant sub-groups such as Free School Meal pupils, Pupil Premium pupils, Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) pupils, Black and Minority Ethnic pupils, and gender.
Get in touch with ARI.Reply@education.gov.uk
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Each year, the Government publishes school performance tables that report the achievement and progress of pupils in English secondary schools. These tables are subsequently republished by the media, on websites and as su...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Bristol
The project critically reviews school performance measures and explores potential improvements, which directly addresses the question.
There is already considerable evidence that the nature of school intakes matters. Schools vary in terms of the proportion of pupils with learning challenges or from disadvantaged backgrounds, for example. And this affect...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: Durham University
The project focuses on the impact of poverty in schools, which is related to the question, but does not directly address the prediction of school improvement.
In 2016, the Department for Education radically overhauled their secondary school accountability system and introduced 'Progress 8', arguing it to be the simplest and fairest school performance measure to date. Progress ...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Bristol
The project evaluates alternative methods for measuring school performance, which is partially relevant to the question but does not directly address the prediction of school improvement.