Cohort information

[Aigle]

In the DfE secondary league tables there is a section on cohort listing Low/Middle/High attainers. Does that information reflect the KS2 'attainment' of the Y11 cohort (who's GCSE's the table pertains to)?

Yes

It's not going to be particularly accurate this year because this was the year group which boycotted the SATs.

Yes, KS2 Level 3s = Low, Level 4s = Middle and Level 5s = High

I didn't realise that SAT's were boycotted in some places? Can you explain at bit more?

Cohort info of this kind will be a poor predictor of attainment even in years when there wasn't a boycott. See Cambridge research on the subject.

MidYIS or CAT scores have a better predictive power.

Even if armed with information about the 2009 intake's performance in 2014 GCSE and so-called baseline information, parents should beware taking it too seriously. A lot can change in six years - admissions policy, feeder schools' characteristics and intake six years earlier etc etc.

Value added is important - but that too can be expected to vary over time, between subjects and so on.

For prediction of future performance, nothing beats a realistic assessment of your own child's ability and attainment, and few primary schools pass that info on. They are expected to be positive at all times.