Key Performance Indicators for Primary School Improvement

Abstract

Over recent times increasing attention has been given to the development of performance indicators (PI) for schools. However, much of this work is characterized by the assumption that PIs will somehow `speak for themselves' and strikingly little effort has been made to explore how they can be used to promote school improvement. This paper describes the system of PIs for primary schools employed within one LEA, and in particular focuses on the link between the PIs and concurrent efforts on the part of the LEA to support school improvement. These efforts include a research programme which aims to translate the PIs into targets for improvement appropriate to each school and a programme of Annual School Reviews undertaken by the LEA inspectorate.

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