Coronavirus and performance tables

In 2020, there will be no performance tables using the A-level results, due to the way they are calculated.

WATCH: How A-level grades are calculated

What are A-level league tables?

A-level league tables, otherwise known as sixth-form performance tables, compare schools and colleges on A-level exam data. This data is released in October, using the A-level results from the summer.

Who creates them?

The data is collected by the Department for Education, and posted on their website. This data is then broken down by newspapers and used to compare performance at a regional and national level.

Why are they controversial?

Some people find the tables controversial due to the competitive element they bring to the performance of schools and colleges.

Some say it encourages gaming, leading schools and colleges to make decisions on what will improve their league-table ranking, rather than the best outcomes for students.

What data do they contain?

The tables list the type of school or college, the number of students on roll, the progress score, average grade and point score, the percentage of students who completed their study programme, the percentage of students who achieved AAB or higher in two or more “facilitating” subjects, and the average grade for three of the students’ best grades.

What does this data mean?

The progress score is calculated by comparing how students at this college performed in comparison to students in other parts of the country with similar prior attainment.

The Department for Education describes “facilitating” subjects as “A levels...that are commonly needed for entry to leading universities”.

They are: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, further mathematics, geography, history, English literature and classical or modern languages.