ABSTRACT
The information that is available to schools is immense and complicated. Most of it is internal, but there is also a plethora of facts imposed from outside. Every pupil's Standard Attainment Targets (SATs) results are just the start: classes and subjects can be compared to each other, and every school can be compared to others. The question school effectiveness research deals with most of the time is what kind of factors within schools and classrooms make a difference between effective and less effective schools. This research explores a different avenue, the reactions of head teachers to the information that is given to them; which parts of the School Profile they found most useful, and what kind of information they would wish to share with others. Continuing professional development is usually based on the notion that improvement can be seen and measured. Annual reviews are based on information like the success rates of pupils and attendance figures.
