Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Lucas (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 23 March 2009.

Schools: Performance Tables

Question: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that Answer. Is it not the case that the Government could simply ask the exam boards for the IGCSE results and incorporate them into the tables? There would then be no chance whatever of bias. Is it not much more important that the tables provide parents with the information that they need to help them choose schools than to keep the Government’s amour propre clean concerning a little dispute about what an exam is called?

Answer: My Lords, as the noble Lord is well aware, when the most recent statistics were prepared, only a few students were taking IGCSEs. We can reassure noble Lords that as regards the most current information, there is little likelihood of an impact. However, IGCSEs have not been submitted for accreditation to Ofqual. Therefore, until such a time as Ofqual has accredited those examinations and they are approved for use in maintained schools, we would not be in a position to collect those statistics.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 709 c441
Session: 2008-09
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Related items: Schools: International GCSEs
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Statistics Standards Schools IGCSE Private education
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk