Student Performance Analysis

Sample A-level file


                                      Score1     Rank1    Score2     Rank2
  1   GALLARD B                      6.60      3.00    360.00      1.00
  2   CHAPLIN C                      6.67      2.00    340.00      4.00
  3   FLOW E                         6.87      1.00    340.00      4.00
  4   WRIGHT A                       6.30      5.00    340.00      4.00
  5   WENDLE M                       6.00     14.50    340.00      4.00
  6   DUNSTER C                      5.87     19.00    340.00      4.00
  7   BRIGHT R                       5.60     26.50    320.00      7.50
  8   YOUNGER T                      5.56     29.00    320.00      7.50
  9   WINSTON C                      5.67     24.00    280.00     10.00
 10   BROAD S                        6.22      8.00    280.00     10.00
 11   JAMES G                        6.12     11.00    280.00     10.00
 12   JASPER N                       5.37     32.50    260.00     13.50
 13   MORCOMBE W                     4.89     47.50    260.00     13.50
 14   HEAD A                         4.87     50.00    260.00     13.50
 15   SEFTON H                       4.50     62.00    260.00     13.50
 16   FLOOD R                        6.00     14.50    240.00     18.50
 17   RICHE R                        5.89     17.00    240.00     18.50
 18   GORDON S                       6.22      8.00    240.00     18.50
 19   HOLT S                         6.22      8.00    240.00     18.50
 


 60   BROGUE S                       4.86     51.00     80.00     59.50
 61   ROGERS R                       5.12     39.50     80.00     59.50
 62   GUY F                          5.00     44.00     80.00     59.50
 63   KING L                         4.71     55.50     60.00     63.00
 64   LANDER M                       4.33     67.50     40.00     65.50
 65   WALKER C                       4.56     60.00     40.00     65.50
 66   CABLE C                        4.62     58.00     40.00     65.50
 67   SAGE O                         4.89     47.50     40.00     65.50
 68   REGIS J                        4.89     47.50      0.00     70.00
 69   NORMAN S                       4.78     52.50      0.00     70.00
 70   ANTELL S                       4.11     70.00      0.00     70.00
 71   SPRAGUE B                      4.50     62.00      0.00     70.00


     The Correlation factor is  0.59
     The Indicator Median is    5.25       Mean is                    5.31
     Indicator Mode is          6.22       Frequency is               5.00
     The Outcome Median is    180.00       Mean points / pupil is   170.70
     Outcome mode is          120.00       Frequency is              10.00
     Mean grade / entry is     59.12       The number of pupils is      71

At the end of the list is the co-efficient of correlation between the GCSE mean and the A-level points. This co-efficient can be checked against statistical tables to make sure it is statistically significant.

Figures are also given for the Indicator (GCSE mean) Mean, Mode and Median values. These can give some idea of the distribution of the indicator scores. Beware of putting too much weight on the Modal score as it is possible to have a number of modes within any sample.
Remember, the Mode score is the most commonly occurring score, the Median represents the mid-range score and the Mean is the average score calculated by summing the individual scores and dividing by the number of individuals.

The same figures are also shown for the outcome score (A level points).

Providing the correlation is good, this table is very useful for one can run down the list and see at a glance whether pupils have performed as you would have expected them to, better or worse, by looking at their respective rankings for the indicator and the examination performance.

For instance, a pupil who was ranked 62nd on the indicator score but was ranked 12th= on the examination results has shown considerable improvement and vice versa. An alternative hypothesis would be that for the individual pupil the indicator result was not typical and therefore this would highlight the need for the use of other tests to act as a check.

An additional point worth noting here is that it may be the examination points total that is not indicative of the pupil's ability. This can be distorted by a rogue result caused by illness, or a personality clash with a particular subject teacher, or the fact that the pupil only took a very few examinations, so check what each pupil actually achieved as shown on the sheet listing the actual grades obtained.

SPA Home page
Further A-level analyses
GCSE analyses