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This paper investigates the performances and the progress made by pupils of minority ethnic origin between Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 in British secondary schools. The data used in this paper were collected as part of a PhD study by Haque (1999). The paper discusses findings from multilevel modelling analyses carried out on 12 of the 20 schools in the research study. In particular, it reveals that whilst differences exist in the performances and the progress of pupils of minority ethnic background in their Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 examinations, these differences become substantially reduced when background factors (other than ethnic origin) are taken into account. The paper concludes that in order to identify accurately and reduce the nature of disadvantages for pupils from particular minority ethnic groups, policy-makers, schools and teachers need to differentiate these groups beyond their national origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new survey of the educational attainments of 15-year-olds was undertaken by OECD in Spring 2000 (the 'PISA survey'). Surprisingly, British pupils appeared to perform in mathematics much better than in an IEA survey carried out only one year previously. This paper examines four main differences in the objectives and methods adopted in the two surveys. (a) Questions in the previous IEA survey were directed to the mastery of the school syllabus by the relevant age-groups, whereas PISA was ostensibly directed to so-called 'everyday life' problems--which provides less guidance for policy on schooling. (b) The IEA survey was based on samples of whole classes including, for example, older pupils who had entered school late, or had repeated a class: PISA excluded the latter pupils as it was based strictly on a 12-months' period of birth; issues of variability of pupils' attainments within a class--important for a class's teachability--cannot therefore be examined in this OECD survey. (c) England's response rate for schools was particularly low (60%, compared with 95% in leading European countries), raising serious doubts as to the inclusion of low-attaining schools. (d) The response rate of pupils (within participating schools in the PISA survey) was lower in England than in any other country, and lower than in the previous IEA survey, suggesting a greater upward bias in reported average scores. The paper concludes that it is difficult to draw valid conclusions for Britain from this survey and planned repeats should be postponed until the underlying methodological problems have been resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing a coherent 14-19 phase of education and training has been a major feature of the last ten years of the Labour government. This has been the case, too, of the Welsh Assembly Government since its establishment in 1999 with its separate education policy and arrangement. The English 'project' might be characterised by (i) a more holistic approach to the total welfare of the young person, reflected in the attempt to join up the various services which affect welfare in general and educational achievement in particular; (ii) the 'personalisation' of learning; (iii) collaboration or partnership between the different providers of education and training; (iv) a reform of the whole system of qualifications; (v) a revamp of the training and apprenticeship system; and (vi) increased central 'management' of the system to ensure targets are reached. The Welsh 'project' has been different in many respects—an interesting contrast as the two systems increasingly diverge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Incorporation' in Further Education in England and Wales centralised policy control and implemented a per-pupil funding formula that promoted equity, in that colleges were paid more for enrolling 'disadvantaged' students, and for performance, in that funding was contingent on retention and student success rates. This article analyses the impact of funding policy on student success rates for adults in general further education colleges using five years of student-level administrative data from 1998/99 to 2002/03. Results from descriptive statistics show that student success rates rose by 10% during the five-year period, with the largest gains made by ethnic minorities, adult basic education students, and students from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Logistic regression results mirror the descriptive statistic results but find especially strong gains for adult basic education students and students receiving additional learning support funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes results from Key Stage 1 National Curriculum tests in Great Britain in 1995. Use of multilevel modelling; Influence of reading attainment on mathematics test scores; Effects of background variables such as sex, age and nursery education.