Did you know the full breakdown of your KS2 SATs results is available every year?
The KS2 SATs give a validated indication of each of your students strengths and weaknesses and the results are made available every year by the DfE – broken down to performance in each individual question via analyse school performance.
These are standardised assessments – marked independently – and so give a great overview of your school curriculum and how successfully it guided your Year 6 to achieve their potential.
And yet, so many schools simply do not use this resource even though it is free!!
But this is data from the past…
We agree but by looking back at how your full Year 6 cohort performed, you may be able to see gaps that surely suggest more about how they were taught than it was the same error across all 30 students. By digging deeper into the results, you may be able to create
- A focus on explaining inferences that will change outcomes one year later.
- Whole school literacy programmes that will change outcomes two years later.
- CPD to challenge the teaching of algebra that will change outcomes three years later.
We could go on but small steps could be found that could make a huge impact in your school.
How do I do this? Answer: Question Level Analysis
Question Level Analysis (or QLA) is now becoming more popular in schools across the country- described by some as a “magic bullet”.
QLA breaks assessment data down into meaningful insight – looking instead at topics or cohorts rather than individual answers. This aggregation allows you to see patterns emerging which can be the drivers to implement change.
QLA is often used to look at the results of a mock exam. Here, the aggregated analysis gives clear guidance for teaching on topics where pupil didn’t perform well or individual intervention plans to help those who need more 1 to1 attention.
BUT why not use it backwards too… The same logic can apply.
By digging deep, could you find the “magic bullet” to change your school?
I don’t have the time or ability to do this…
This is possibly the main reason why most schools don’t use the results breakdown from the DfE. The results appear as numbers but don’t give you the detail you need to dive deeper..
That is where DAISI Education come in..
We are a team of expert analysts passionate about turning school data into meaningful insight so that your pupils can realise their potential.
In other words, our aim is to break your school data down into a way that allows you to find those marginal gains without spending hours staring at spreadsheets!
QLA Results
Our QLA Results takes the raw data from the DfE – sent in to us by schools across the country – and reproduces it into reports that are sent directly back to your inbox within days.
We don’t just give you numbers. We explain the results in plain English and show them through graphs and tables to make it accessible by all.
We give you the tools for you to use to carry out your own deep dive and it is proven to help. In fact, 80% of schools who used DAISI QLA consistently over three years have seen an increase in their attainment.
Analysis includes..
A Full Summary
A clear starting point – focussing in on the headlines and points for you to focus on as the deeper analysis continues.
Topic Insight
We divide up the questions into bespoke Topics – allowing you to look back and address the learning gaps across your school.
Type of Question
Is there one particular question type which is a problem to your pupils? This analysis can be used to pinpoint exactly where to focus your intervention.
Analysis of every Cohort
We break the results down into your various cohorts – gender, disadvantaged, SEN, EAL and prior attainment allowing you to focus in on the areas in need.
Individual Pupil Profiles
Our pupil profiles allow you to see where marks were lost and gained band provides detailed evidence to help guide your search for improvements across the school.
Does it Work?
There are many schools who have bought and used QLA Results over the past 12 years. Many of whom returned year after year wanting the analysis over and over again. You can read their feedback by clicking here.
Looking back at an impact on results, we recently worked out that 80% of schools who used DAISI QLA consistently over three years have seen an increase in their attainment. We cannot take the credit for this as it is up to how the school uses the analysis provided but we know it clearly made a difference.
For a more focused example of how QLA helped a school change its outcomes, take a look at the example below.
“Whole school targets that we can show improved the attainment of our pupils”.
Seely Primary and Nursery School ordered our QLA Results and used it to look at trends across KS2 and then further down the school. By utilising the analysis given, they saw a rise in their results across each of the different subjects in the KS2 SATs and this was also reflected in their next Ofsted Inspection.
We find the Question Level Analysis from DAISI invaluable at Seely Primary and Nursery School. .
We struggled historically with reading results at the end of KS2 and have used DAISI QLA to drill down into the reasons why reading was significantly lower than maths.
Using QLA we found that the issues were EAL pupils struggling with vocabulary -we introduced word of the week, then realising we needed more, word of the day. We also put on additional pre teaching sessions with an EAL teacher.
We also identified that inference was a massive problem and we made it our whole school target, had loads of CPD and this made a massive difference.
In 2016, our reading EXP was 54%. In 2017, it was 68% and in 2018, it was 79%. All down to QLA.
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We also identified that girls were impacting on our combined result by passing all their English subjects but not maths.
A quick look at our QLA found that our girls weren’t great at arithmetic so lunchtime arithmetic sessions were introduced and there is no longer a boy/girl gap in maths.
Deputy Headteacher
Seely Primary and Nursery School was graded “Requires Improvement” in December 2016.
This article was written in March 2019.
In May 2019, the school was inspected again with grade rising to a “Good”.
Good-quality teaching and the effective use of assessment have led to a trend of improvement in pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics and a range of other subjects. Standards in writing remain below those in reading and mathematics.
All groups of pupils make good progress from their varied starting points. The curriculum is suitably modified to meet the learning needs of the most able pupils, and also of those who find learning more difficult. Disadvantaged pupils achieve well. Those who speak English as an additional language soon grow in confidence in their spoken and written English.
Ofsted Report May 2019
When asked about the role of DAISI Question Level Analysis, the deputy replied..
In my role as deputy headteacher of a big school as well as assessment coordinator, there is no way I would have the time or capacity to complete QLA to the level and in the detail that the DAISI team do.
They saved me days of work and the information this gives me allows us to develop whole school targets that we can show improved the attainment of our pupils.
In conclusion, Question Level Analysis is a vital and valuable tool for detailed assessment at school level and can make a huge difference in your school outcomes.