Phil Budgell
Sheffield, UK
https://doi.org/10.53656/voc24-1-06
Abstract. In this article, the author continues the argument, that he has previously put forward (Budgell 2023), for an open and transparent use of data that already exists but is not collected, collated and analysed appropriately within the education system in Bulgaria. Currently, School Directors have at their disposal:
1. a longitudinal or trend analysis;
2. a comparative analysis within the school;
3. a comparative analysis across schools; and
4. an ipsative analysis, the assessment of pupils’ progress or value-added by the school.
However, given:
a. the nature of the pupil population; and
b. the structure and organisation of the school system
these techniques are of limited value without a detailed analysis of the State Matriculation Examinations.
The author uses the prior attainment scores and the results from the State Matriculation Examinations for the pupils who left a Mathematics Grammar School in 2023 to illustrate the limitations of the techniques available to School Directors. Finally, the author proposes, in detail, the type of analysis that would take account of:
i. the actual pupils who attend an individual schools; and
j. the differences between the results of the subjects for which there is a State Matriculation Examination.
He concludes that, it is only with this type of detailed analysis, that it is really possible for School Directors, the teachers and parents to know how well their school is performing.
Keywords: education system, Bulgaria, key performance indicators, variables, input, output, intervening