--- title: Factors to Consider on GCSE Results Day | Teaching and Learning description: Discover the factors to consider on GCSE results day that go beyond judging teacher effectiveness. Explore the impact of whole school, department, and class-level factors. --- [Douglas Wise English Teaching Resources](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/blog) # [Factors to Consider on GCSE Results Day | Teaching and Learning](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/blog/factors-consider-gcse-results-day) Written by [Douglas Wise](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/blog/author/wise) | 30 July, 2019 GCSE results and linked progress scores for individual classes are unreliable proxies for judging teacher effectiveness.  It’s tempting to think otherwise, but the truth is that decent teachers don’t always achieve decent results and results achieved by individual teachers vary over time.  Input doesn’t match output.  So, when the next set of results are officially published on the 22nd August, it’s worth considering the wider impact of the factors below *alongside* viewpoints on the quality of teaching that has gone before. **Factors to Consider: Whole School Level** 1. [Culture](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/embracing-awkward-conversations-and-uncomfortable-truths/) and climate of the school 2. Curriculum priorities 3. Teaching and learning priorities 4. Approaches to [behaviour](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/broken-windows-behaviour/) and inclusion **Factors to Consider: Department Level** 1. Breadth of the KS3 [curriculum](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/importance-reading-widely/) and the quality of its implementation 2. Allocation and division of KS4 curriculum time 3. Consistency of staffing across classes (e.g. split classes, mid-course changes to staffing) 4. Group changes (e.g. students judged not to be making progress switched into a different class) 5. [Experience](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/teaching-experience-matters/) levels and specialisms of staff 6. Quality of schemes of work and shared resources 7. Approaches to setting (students in top sets are likely to make more progress and achieve better results) 8. Approaches to [intervention](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/exam-interventions-14-questions-consider/) 9. The amount of curriculum time lost through whole-school initiatives (e.g. collapsed timetable days) 10. Level and quality of SLT support **Factors to Consider: Class Level** 1. The mobility of students and their routes into the class (e.g. in-year transfers, managed moves, group changes) 2. The attendance of students at school-level 3. The attendance of students at class-level (e.g. lessons missed because of isolation) 4. Level of teacher autonomy (e.g. to teach in a certain way or to prioritise aspects of the curriculum) 5. Student attendance at intervention sessions 6. Effectiveness of intervention 7. Quality of student [behaviour](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/the-importance-of-promoting-key-normative-behaviours/) 8. Levels of student motivation 9. Levels of parental support and engagement 10. Level and quality of HoD support **Other Factors to Consider: Class Level** 1. Gender balance of students 2. Levels of socio-economic disadvantage 3. Ethnicity of students 4. Nature and diversity of special educational needs 5. Nature and diversity of EAL needs 6. Stability of home-life 7. Levels of parental education 8. Access to private tuition **Further Reading** 1. [Research Brief: Influences on students’ GCSE attainment and progress at age 16](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/sites/ioe/files/RB352_-_Influences_on_Students_GCSE_Attainment_and_Progress_at_Age_16_Brief.pdf) 2. [Research Report: Factors associated with achievement: key stage 4](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473673/RR407_-_Factors_associated_with_achievement_-_key_stage_4.pdf) 3. [Research Report: Multiple disadvantage and KS4 attainment: evidence from LSYPE2](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/808591/LSYPE2_multiple_disadvantage_and_KS4_attainment.pdf) 4. [Education Datalab: Long-term disadvantage, part three: Ethnicity, EAL and long-term disadvantage](https://ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2017/07/long-term-disadvantage-part-three-ethnicity-eal-and-long-term-disadvantage/) 5. [Education Datalab: Key Stage 4 performance tables 2018: Four key points from this year’s data](https://ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2019/01/key-stage-4-performance-tables-2018-four-key-points-from-this-years-data/) 6. [6 findings on latest EEF report](https://www.suttontrust.com/newsarchive/eef-latest-data-attainment-gap-report/) Good, bad or average: lest we forget in a few weeks that a set of GCSE results is not simply the isolated outcome of two years of teaching. Thanks for reading – Doug [hello@douglaswise.co.uk](mailto:hello@douglaswise.co.uk)  [View full post](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/blog/factors-consider-gcse-results-day) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Douglas Wise" }, "dateModified" : "2024-02-07T09:38:07.747Z", "datePublished" : "2019-07-30T08:37:00Z", "headline" : "Factors to Consider on GCSE Results Day", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 445, "url" : "https://143698377.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/143698377/dougblog-800x445.jpg", "width" : 800 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/blog/factors-consider-gcse-results-day", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png", "width" : 60 }, "name" : "Douglas Wise" } } ```