In education, ‘Value-added’ is a term that takes into account the starting point of each student and compares it to the actual outcomes for a fairer and more accurate measure of a school’s performance than exam results simply on their own.

At Heritage, we use the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4) suite of tests to measure the starting point of each student, helping us to assess how students think in areas that are known to make a difference to learning; verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and spatial reasoning. We use these tests because they help us evaluate our own judgments about pupil attainment and potential relative to national standards, and they help us monitor pupil progress over time.

Using each pupil’s CAT4 scores, a ‘most likely score’ is determined for the top six I/GCSE subjects. This most likely score is then compared to actual exam results when we have them. So for example, if a pupil’s CAT4 score correlates with a likely I/GCSE result of 6.2 for top six subjects, and the actual result for those subjects is 6.6, the value added is determined to be +.4.

For 2023 exam results, the average Value Added score for Heritage School was an impressive +1.1 meaning that, on average, Heritage added 1.1 points to pupils’ exam results. This number has consistently been over +1, with a six-year average of +1.3. In addition, our analysis of scores and self-reported alumni data reveals no gender bias in outcomes.

Of course, we think it is important to note that there is far more to a school’s value than what can be measured and, as we have said elsewhere, we keep our eye on a more distant horizon – what kind of people are our pupils becoming? What kind of life are they being prepared to live? And we work to maintain a culture that values learning for its own sake.