Academy Facts

Academies: The Evidence of Underperformance

The massive release of data by the Department for Education (over 200 pieces of data on each of over 5,000 secondary schools) makes possible a thorough analysis of how well different types of school have performed. The evidence is clear and overwhelming: Academies have not been the success story that their supporters have claimed. Instead there is a clear record of under-performance.
Henry Stewart should be credited for the very thorough analysis of those data.


The overall figures have long been clear, for the key measure of % achieving 5 A-Cs at GCSE including English and Maths:


Academies: 47%
Non-academies: 60%


The data now includes a figure for the % achieving 5 A-Cs including English and Maths but without counting non-GCSE qualifications like Btecs. Here the difference is even more stark:


Academies: 34%
Non-academies: 54%


The gap is huge but this is an unfair comparison. We know that the raw % pass rate (though currently Ofsted’s favoured figure) is closely related to the ability of the students at entry. We know that schools in disadvantaged areas tend to achieve lower % for 5 A-Cs and we know that the early academies were more likely to be in disadvantaged areas. So does this explain the discrepancy?
The answer is a resounding no. To analyse this, I split the data into five comparison groups according to the % of students on free school meals. The first group, the most advantaged, is of schools where less than 10% are on FSM and so on up to the most disadvantaged where more than 40% are on FSM. Academies still perform worse than comparable non-academies.

% achieving 5 A-Cs at GCSE including English and Maths:

Figures with GCSEs + equivalents
Overall Academies: 47%
Non-academies: 60%
Related to % children on FSM




Figures with GCSEs only
Overall Academies: 34%
Non-academies: 54%
Related to % children on FSM




The message is clear. When academies are compared to comprehensives with the same level of disadvantage, their results are worse.
Another example: the % making expected progress in English and Maths:







Film to explain the data

(Source)