‘The goal is to turn data into information and information into an insight’
– Carly Fiorina

If you already use SISRA Analytics you will know what a valuable tool it can be for monitoring students’ progress both at current tracking as well as potential performance. The features to model different groups and compare with past data are also useful.

I’ve been an advocate of SISRA Analytics since I first encountered the service in 2012, and have introduced it in my last two schools as a tool for all members of staff.

Therefore, it was with great interest that my colleagues and I learned of SISRA’s collaboration plans (led by ASCL) to create their own Attainment 8 estimates. We signed up immediately, and were keen to encourage others to do the same. For a school in our position (with a low P8 score in 2016), this has been invaluable.

We have been able to demonstrate that, when compared with 1,177 other schools*, we are likely to have made substantial improvements on 2016. This gave us the confidence to review our own self-evaluation at an early stage. The shared data has been very close to the data within the checking exercise too (slightly conservative in comparison, but still closer than anything we’ve had before).

‘Without data you’re just another person with an opinion’
– W. Edwards Demming

That was true of us. We thought our progress had improved, but in this brave new world of 4s and 5s, we had no reassurance. Sharing our data with all these other schools gave credence to our opinion.

As a school we are committed to sharing our data and working with other schools where we can – this supports our value of aspiration (by sharing and learning with others we are supported to be the “best we can be”).

After the success of the 2017 opt-in I’m very much looking forward to taking part in the 2018 opt-in, which SISRA is suggesting may well stretch beyond A8/P8 data. I would strongly urge all schools to opt on to this once it becomes available. The bigger the data set, the more reliable the hypothesis, and the more insight you will get into the progress of your students.

*as of October 2017