By the Tadrees team
Board results are one of the few pieces of objective information parents and students can use when comparing schools and colleges. They are also easy to misread. This guide explains what the numbers mean and how to combine them with other information before you decide.
The pass percentage tells you what share of the students who appeared in an exam passed. It is a useful basic check: a school where many students fail deserves questions. But a high pass percentage alone can be misleading. A school can reach 100% by passing everyone with a bare pass grade, or by allowing only its strongest students to sit the exam.
The number and share of A1 (A+) grades shows how many students score very high marks. Compare it with the share of A grades as well. A school with both a good pass percentage and a large share of A1 and A grades is helping students at the top end and at the bottom end. If a school has many A1 grades but a modest pass percentage, it may be strong for able students and weak for the rest, so think about which group your child belongs to.
Percentages from small groups swing wildly. If only eight students appeared, one student failing changes the pass percentage by more than twelve points. When you compare schools, prefer ones with a reasonable number of students, and be careful with a school that tops a ranking with a very small class. That is why our rankings let you set a minimum number of students.
One good year can be luck, a strong batch or a generous marking season. Look at several results of the same class. A school whose pass percentage and A1 share are steady or rising over time is a safer choice than one that peaked once. A sharp fall deserves a question: ask the school what changed, for example teachers leaving or a change in management.
A pass percentage of 70% means something different in a year when the whole board passed 60% than in a year when it passed 85%. Comparing a school with the board average for the same class and year shows whether it is genuinely ahead. On each school page we show this difference.
Results do not show how students were admitted. A school that accepts only high scorers will naturally produce high scores, so the result shows who joined as much as how well they were taught. They also say nothing about teacher quality, facilities, discipline, fees, the safety of the building or the distance from home. A student also does best where they feel supported and comfortable.
Our board results analysis shows the numbers behind the first two steps for every school in the gazette data, but the final decision should always rest on the whole picture.
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