The Government will move a stage further next year by linking value-added figures and exam results to the three-year targets due to be introduced next August, when schools with similar characteristics will have to match the best in their group.
Despite embracing a value-added system the Scottish Office will continue to emphasise “health warnings” that the results should not be taken at face value. This is particularly the case where school departments appear not be doing very well for their pupils, which could be because they are performing strongly at Standard grade and are therefore unable to add much value beyond that.