ABSTRACT
Evaluating schools, and making judgements about their performance, is deceptively simple. We take a few performance indicators, measure these accurately and then compare the results of one school with another, or with local schools, or against the national picture. In this way we, as parents, pupils or members of the general public, will be able to judge which are good schools, which are poor, or average. The question arises, however: is life so simple? In fact, the answer is clearly that it is not. Such simple, some might argue simplistic, evaluations might produce results which are positively misleading. In a period where such information is readily available, indeed actively promoted, such mis-information may be highly damaging to the school whose performance is underestimated. Equally, the presentation of data which overestimates a school's performance may result in parents and pupils, both those already associated with the school or potential applicants, being misled.
