The fallacy that is League Tables

It seems that many governments need the idea of league tables to measure education. I find this most interesting considering the underlying aims and objectives of education systems. I think if schools are to be 'judged' (or offer some form of indication) then surely we need to examine the aims and objectives (or if you prefer, rules) they operate under. In the last few decades the emphasis has been more holistic in nature and looks at the overall development of the student, not just the academic progress. If you read the pre-amble and/or mission statements for curriculum documents, you will find these documents I have included one from the IB Middle Years Program as a focus for the blog. If you don't know these for your school system, my advice is to simply ask!


Admittedly one of the main objectives involves the assessment of course skills and objectives. This seems to be the one that helps in the formation of the league tables, and cause so much conjecture and debate. But, as you can see it offers a simplistic view of a school. Seeing the results of one (series) examination session is only providing a snapshot of that particular day. It fails to take into the account the other less tangible, but by no means less important other functions of your school - social development and emotional intelligence to name but two.

I simply look at the statistical point of view, it seems that making a fair comparison is not as valid as the makers have on us all. The number of variables that exist between any two schools mean that you might just as well be comparing "apples and oranges". I think that statisticians would agree that you really can make statistics tell you anything if you choose (or cherry pick) them.

The most disturbing push then comes to compare country with country. Now considering that we start with different objectives, assessments, curriculum and of course cultures. I was most interested and amazed by a recent article about why countries such at England and Australia should follow the example of the Chinese education system. Please take the time to read the link. I am in no way trying to degenerate China's education system, but wonder again how with all of the cultural and historical factors considered, a fair judgement or comparison can possibly be made.

Disturbingly I found that people in both mentioned (and other) countries wanted to embrace the notion on face value! This was particularly evident in certain sections of the media and politicians. I wonder how many of the children or grandchildren of these people would be asked to be part of the system they propose? It is important to note that any change that is proposed or made in these political discussions will effect the state-run or public system, without having any major impact at all on the private system that operates within that society. So utmost care must be taken. I'm sure that you would be totally outraged if I tried to make decisions for you that don't affect me! So when the "boot is on the other foot" we must also take care. The old adage "things must not only be fair, but be seen to be fair" must take some priority in our thoughts.

A simple "knee jerk reaction" to one factor involved in education is often far to easy to make. On the surface it seems a really promising idea until you take the time to delve deeper and consider what you really want from your education system. I suppose it really goes back to the question I previously proposed, what do you actually want for your child? 

I simply put to you the questions: 

• "what will happen to creativity, imagination and other factors in our society if we simply value recall?" 
• "Would you really want the same system for your child?" 

Parent Decisions & Choices

I thought this might shed a bit more light on what parents want. They seem to vary and there are so much depending upon cultural, socio-economic and other factors that apply. The variation is neither surprising or breaking news to educationalists, but I suppose that certain pushes indicate the likelihood of becoming a "helicopter parent" and having the resultant impact on the self-actualisation and the resilience level of your child. I suppose the question is where does the concern & your child's end and the living the child's life by making all decisions for them start? An interesting point, and I wonder where the "borderline" lies!

Figure1: How K-12 Parent prioritise attributes

So lets have a closer look at a study done in the US, I feel that the results would be similar in most developed countries. According to Liz Wimmer* in the Getting Smart blog series, parents want:

1. acceptance into a top-tier college
2. creativity programs (including music and arts)
3. high test scores
4. leadership skills
5. the ability to work with individuals from a variety of cultural backgrounds
6. individual attention for their child as needed

* Liz Wimmer is a parent and writer with the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning at the University of Washington. The article is based upon the study done by the Thomas B Fordham Institute, and a more complete examination of this study & its results are available here. The study summary is shown in figure 1. #Figure 1 shows parent high priorities in green, desirable are shown in yellow and less desirable (or so called expendable) characteristics in red. 

She goes on to give some details on percentage of parents giving importance to these areas based upon a 2013 survey. Again these are not really revolutionary or breaking news but they do point towards what parents want. They do provide a really good framework for your child and there is nothing particularly wrong with making these choices, considering the decision is usually made when the child is pre-teen. But if we follow on from the resilience blog, then I think this can be a negative impact on your child if they keep going. Once the initial are in place it is imperative that you gradually allow them the opportunities to make decisions. Even if they are initially under 'guidance mode' it will help.

I was asked (as part of my head of year role) to sit in on a seminar where students explained to parents what they wanted in terms of colleges. The students basically spoke to their parents and offered detailed explanations to support their choices. It proved an interesting evening with a few eye opening moments, but the key factor was the communication about what the student want. I really think this was the icing on the cake and perhaps even the main purpose of the seminar. This activity was a peripheral "desire of parents" at best, but the importance to the student and their development of resilience, priceless!

I still find it rather amusing at the number of students who have their day fully mapped out for them by their parents, fully understanding the reasons for this, but wondering if in the long term it is the best option. I think that giving them the opportunity to make decisions for themselves (or at least) talking through decision-making is missed in these situations. In the effort to leave no time to make mistakes, parents are really depriving their children of valuable learning experiences and true bonding time that comes with the discussion that follow. But, by the same token, if the parent-child communication is overly critical then more damage can be done than good. I wonder if that is also part of the reason for the over commitment of students by their parents?

The desire and ability of teens to make sound decisions is obvious. But there are times when parents step in and take away the 'right' to make decisions. Again the overall reason behind doing this is often sound and would appear to be based on Maslow's hierarchy. We want to do what 'we think' is best, but in doing so we lose a golden opportunity to help further develop resilience strategies. I think the opportunity to sometimes use these situations as a learning exercise is missed. Is it that difficult to sit and communicate with a teen about the reasoning behind a decision? That would depend on whether you had already begun the process of "teaching" them about decision making and resilience.

I find it amazing in many ways that we find it so hard to "let go"! The idea of allowing them to make their own choices seems foreign, that is until they leave the "nest" to go to college. Part of gaining self-actualisation and build resilience strategies and skills is to practice. Gradually weaning off of dependency will help and is a good strategy for parents to remember. The last thing you really need (as a parent) is the phone call about a decision that should be made on site. Confidence and having the ability to make good decisions or at least be able to minimise damage if a decision goes wrong is what we all hope our children have. But do we do enough before they leave to make sure that it is so?

I wonder if:

• I have prepared my children well enough to make decisions?
• enough of my students have been given the opportunity to fine tune their decision making skills?
• we concentrate far too much on the more tangible aspects of Maslow's hierarchy at the expense of the self-actualisation of our children? 

Pressures and Burnout

I suppose it again is mainly anecdotal, but my observations tell me that there seems to be raised anxiety levels in the students. The number of incidents and interventions that we see in all schools seems to be on the rise. The teenage years are very unsettling for many of us. We stumble through the physical and emotional changes with little guidance - I think that we would all remember with trepidation and hindsight. However, as I mentioned in a previous blog, parents seem to look after certain of the major decisions and leave others to the whim of trial and error. So we tend to find some well developed strategies alongside insecurities and uncertainty, and this does little to aid in the development of resilience.

The daily pressure on your child is both overt and covert. In reality your child will get their cues from each and every word and action we use. So they will rise and fall with on emotions, body language and throw away lines that we communicate to them during each and every interaction. Responses to the increased pressure will vary between rage and antagonism and the silent search for perfection.

One of the hidden results of parental actions and pushing is the search for perfection. Pushing and criticism leads to the belief that only perfection is good enough. It may not be an intended outcome of the push towards gaining goals, but it can be a message that your child hears "loud and clear'. They are not good enough and the only way to overcome this shortfall is to be perfect. While not denying that shooting for the stars can be a good thing, I think that if you are not careful it can become and obsession and that is not.

It seems to be a growing trend that some of the students I see are forever searching for perfection in all they do. I think this is a response to the push to attain at the 'expected level'. If and when they fail, then the results can be devastating. According to Carolyn Gregoire (full article here) they suffer from high rates of burnout. 

This view was enforced by studies done over the last 20 years by researchers (article linked) that concluded "the trait was highly correlated with burnout in school, sports and work. Burnout is characterised by feelings of physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, low motivation and decreased personal efficacy."   Again having witnessed the changes that occur due to the self-doubt that plagues them and the problems that accompany this I'm sure that you would agree that the low motivation is particularly disturbing during the school years, particularly the later teen years. The behavioural changes that are evident are real and the actual mental stagnation that occurs can negate previous progress. The self-doubt that gnaws at the student and lowers their image and self-worth to potentially worrying levels, in some cases we reach levels of depression. 

For many of us that is not really a readily recognised event until it fully manifests itself. Smaller steps along the way as they push themselves to reach perfection are probably less obvious. Although I must admit that I have had parents confide that "Johnny is a perfectionist" during conversations, and I believe that many see it as a very positive character trait. But as with all things, we should be careful what we wish for!

It makes me wonder if:

• we realise the effect we have on our children?
• I can recognise the signs that I am pushing a student too much?
• the search for perfection is really a good thing?