{"id":36,"date":"2018-10-20T13:17:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-20T13:17:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2019-05-13T21:20:25","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T21:20:25","slug":"making-expected-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Making expected progress?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2019Expected progress\u2019 was a DfE accountability measure until 2015. Inspectors must not use this term when referring to progress for 2016 or current pupils<\/i>.\u00a0Ofsted Inspection Update, March 2017<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an odd phrase, expected progress, as it seems to have two meanings. First, there is the expectation of the teacher, which is based on an in-depth knowledge of the pupil; not only their start point but everything else: their specific needs, attitude to learning,\u00a0the support and engagement of parents<\/span>, and\u00a0<\/span>whether or not the pupil had breakfast. And then there is the definition we build into our systems, which is essentially a straight line drawn from pupils\u2019 prior attainment at EYFS, KS1 or KS2. A one size-fits all-approach done for the sake of convenience – a simplistic formula and a neat scale. Needless to say, the two usually do not match, but all to often we wilfully ignore the former in favour of the latter, and plough on with blind faith in the straight line.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is the assumption of \u2018linearity\u2019 –\u00a0that all pupils learn in the same way, at the same rate, and follow the magic gradient. We know it\u2019s not true but we go along it because we have to make pupils fit the system, even if it means shooting ourselves in the foot in the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The other problem with \u2018expected progress\u2019 – other than it not existing – is that it sounds, well, mediocre. Language is important, and if we choose to adopt the phrase \u2018expected progress\u2019 then we also need to have a definition for \u2018above expected progress\u2019 as well. And this is where things start to get messy. It wasn\u2019t that long ago that I saw Ofsted report state that \u2018according to the school\u2019s own tracking data, not enough pupils are making more than expected progress\u2019. The school was hamstrung by the point system they used, that only really allowed those that were behind at the start of the year and apparently caught up, to make more than expected progress. Everyone else had to settle for expected.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But putting aside the still popular levels and points-style methods, we still have a problem in those schools that are taking a \u2018point in time\u2019\/age-related approach.<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Quite simple really and perfectly illustrated by a recent conversation, where I asked the headteacher, who was talking about percentages of pupils making expected progress, to define it. They gave a puzzled look, as if it was a bizarre question:<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s staying at expected. If they were expected before and still at expected now, then they\u2019ve made expected progress, surely?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sounds logical.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what about those at greater depth?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s sticking at greater depth of course.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, how do \u2018greater depth\u2019 pupils make above expected progress?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Problem number 1: in this system, pupils with high start points cannot be shown to have made ‘above expected’ progress.\u00a0I asked another question: \u201cwhat about those pupils that were working towards? What\u2019s expected progress for them?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo stay at working towards.\u201d Was the reply.<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it? Is that really our expectation for those pupils? To remain below? Obviously there are those that were working towards that probably will remain so; but there are also those pupils, such as EAL pupils, that accelerate through curriculum content. And then there is another group of low prior attaining pupils, that do not have SEND and are not EAL, but often do not catch up. These may well be disadvantaged pupils for whom pupil premium is intended to help close the gap. Our expectations for all these pupils may be different. They do not fit on a nice neat line.<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Expected progress is many things. it is catching up, closing gaps, overcoming barriers and deepening understanding. It is anything but simple and linear.\u00a0What we\u2019re really trying to convey is whether or not pupils are making good progress from their particular start points, taking their specific needs into account.<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That may not roll off the tongue quite as easily, but surely it\u2019s more meaningful than \u2018expected progress\u2019.<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it?<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further reading: Why measuring pupil progress involves more than taking a straight line. Education Data Lab, March 2015\u00a0https:\/\/ffteducationdatalab.org.uk\/2015\/03\/why-measuring-pupil-progress-involves-more-than-taking-a-straight-line\/<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*credit to Daisy Christodolou whose book title I’ve blatantly copied.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2019Expected progress\u2019 was a DfE accountability measure until 2015. Inspectors must not use this term when referring to progress for 2016 or current pupils.\u00a0Ofsted Inspection Update, March 2017. It\u2019s an odd phrase, expected progress, as it seems to have two meanings. First, there is the expectation of the teacher, which is based on an in-depth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMaking expected progress? - Sig+ for School Data<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making expected progress? - Sig+ for School Data\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2019Expected progress\u2019 was a DfE accountability measure until 2015. Inspectors must not use this term when referring to progress for 2016 or current pupils.\u00a0Ofsted Inspection Update, March 2017. It\u2019s an odd phrase, expected progress, as it seems to have two meanings. First, there is the expectation of the teacher, which is based on an in-depth […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sig+ for School Data\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-20T13:17:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-05-13T21:20:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Pembroke\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Pembroke\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James Pembroke\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/7e8f0c5648bcd650f7324ff86181456b\"},\"headline\":\"Making expected progress?\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-20T13:17:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-13T21:20:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/\"},\"wordCount\":722,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Uncategorized\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/\",\"name\":\"Making expected progress? - Sig+ for School Data\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-20T13:17:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-13T21:20:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Making expected progress?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Sig+ for School Data\",\"description\":\"Helping schools make sense of their data\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Sig+\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sigplus.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sigplus.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Sig+\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/7e8f0c5648bcd650f7324ff86181456b\",\"name\":\"James Pembroke\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2307f6347e73ae661d1a5ab652d2e257?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2307f6347e73ae661d1a5ab652d2e257?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Pembroke\"},\"description\":\"Data Analyst and Advisor with 15 years experience in primary, secondary and post-16 sectors. Follow me on Twitter: @jpembroke\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Making expected progress? - Sig+ for School Data","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Making expected progress? - Sig+ for School Data","og_description":"\u2019Expected progress\u2019 was a DfE accountability measure until 2015. Inspectors must not use this term when referring to progress for 2016 or current pupils.\u00a0Ofsted Inspection Update, March 2017. It\u2019s an odd phrase, expected progress, as it seems to have two meanings. First, there is the expectation of the teacher, which is based on an in-depth […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/","og_site_name":"Sig+ for School Data","article_published_time":"2018-10-20T13:17:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-05-13T21:20:25+00:00","author":"James Pembroke","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Pembroke","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/"},"author":{"name":"James Pembroke","@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/7e8f0c5648bcd650f7324ff86181456b"},"headline":"Making expected progress?","datePublished":"2018-10-20T13:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-05-13T21:20:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/"},"wordCount":722,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Uncategorized"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/","name":"Making expected progress? - Sig+ for School Data","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-10-20T13:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-05-13T21:20:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/2018\/10\/making-expected-progress\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Making expected progress?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/","name":"Sig+ for School Data","description":"Helping schools make sense of their data","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#organization","name":"Sig+","url":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sigplus.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sigplus.png","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"Sig+"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/7e8f0c5648bcd650f7324ff86181456b","name":"James Pembroke","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2307f6347e73ae661d1a5ab652d2e257?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2307f6347e73ae661d1a5ab652d2e257?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James Pembroke"},"description":"Data Analyst and Advisor with 15 years experience in primary, secondary and post-16 sectors. Follow me on Twitter: @jpembroke"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sigplus.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}