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Recent government policies in the United Kingdom implementing new systems of evaluation and accountability have highlighted the use of performance data to inform judgments about secondary schools, but these developments themselves have been informed by a relatively small number of research studies. This paper reports the findings of a study of school effectiveness from six extensive and detailed regional data sets from two sections of Lancashire, London, Jersey, Scotland, the Netherlands, and England as a whole. Objectives were to study the optimal models for measuring secondary school effectiveness across a range of outcomes in the United Kingdom and abroad, the extent of regional differences in school effectiveness results, and the underlying dimensions of school effectiveness across different regional and policy contexts. Findings show that at least four dimensions of secondary school effectiveness can be defined, in terms of different: (1) outcomes; (2) student groups; (3) pupil cohorts; and (4) curriculum stages (key stages in the British national curriculum). Regional differences appeared to exist in terms of the size and impact of school effects, and they were mirrored by differences in regional context. Effectiveness at different levels of the education system and interactions between levels need to be continually monitored in order to inform policy decisions and map out the boundaries of school effectiveness. Appendixes contain samples from the datasets, a discussion of the statistical analyses, and two tables of correlations between school effects. (Contains 4 tables and 54 references.) (SLD)

Much research has been devoted to ways in which schools influence students. To study this influence, the identification and definition of dimensions of school effectiveness across a range of outcomes and different geographical and educational policy contexts is presented here. The paper describes the findings from a 3-year study funded by the Economic and Social Science Research Council. The study aimed to extend current knowledge concerning the definition and measurement of secondary school effectiveness by contrasting the findings with new and extended analyses of several independent studies of school and departmental effectiveness. The text establishes the optimal multilevel model for measuring school effectiveness over a set period of time. It compares the optimal models across different geographical areas and educational systems in the United Kingdom (England and Scotland) and also abroad (The Netherlands). The study draws together the findings of these comparative analyses to build definitions of school effectiveness for the UK that encompass a range of different outcomes and also take into account different educational policy contexts. Finally, it addresses how the dimensions of school effectiveness may be operationalized and measured within a school evaluation framework in the UK. (RJM)