Public Service Productivity: Education

October 2007

UK Centre for the Measurement of Government Activity

Helen Patterson

Outline

• Context

• Productivity change

• Components of productivity change:

– quantity

– quality adjustment

– inputs

• Future developments

Context

• Atkinson Review – January 2005

• First education productivity article – October 2005

• Public consultation

• Strategy paper “Measuring Quality as part of Public Service

Output”, published July 2007

• Strategy reflected in article

• Further developments

Publicly - funded education productivity

Output

Current price spending

Pay and price deflators

Input

Productivity

Quantity

Quality

Multiplied by

Divided by

Divided by

Publicly-funded education productivity

95

100

105

110

115

120

125

130

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Quality-adjusted output

Input

Productivity

United Kingdom

Index 1996 = 100

Publicly-funded education productivity

Changes in productivity may reflect:• Falling pupil numbers in primary schools;• Rising pupil numbers in secondary schools;• Introduction of the workload reform package,

intended to reduce teacher workload;• Increase in support staff numbers; • Time lags mean that some changes in resources

not yet reflected in quality measure.

Publicly- funded education: quantity measure

Quantity measure of education in theNational Accounts includes pupil attendanceat government maintained schools• Secondary• Primary• Nursery school and classes• Special• City Technology Colleges and Academies

Publicly- funded education: quantity measure

93.0

95.0

97.0

99.0

101.0

103.0

105.0

1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06

England

UK

Scotland

Wales

NorthernIreland

United Kingdom1995/96 = 100

Publicly-funded education: quantity measure

The quantity measure also includes:

• Full-time equivalent children in pre-schools in the private, independent sector funded by government;

• Student numbers in government-funded health professional and initial teacher training courses.

Publicly-funded education: quantity measure

95

97

99

101

103

105

107

109

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

United KingdomIndex 1996 = 100

Publicly-funded education quality measure

• Revised the method used since 1998 for the NA following consultation – technical paper explains;

• Annual change in GCSE exam results in England and Wales and Standard Grades in Scotland;

• Revisions endorsed by external quality assurance panel.

Quality-adjusted measures of education output (1996 to 2006)

90

95

100

105

110

115

120

125

130

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

New Quality adjustment

National Accounts Quality adjustment

No quality adjustment

United KingdomIndex 1996 =100

Publicly funded education: quantity developments

• Extension to quantity measure:

- Further education

and later

- Higher education

- Activities in extended schools

Publicly funded education: quality measure developments

• Attainment measures

- Pre school measure

- Primary school measure

- Sixth form / further education measures• Other educational outcome measures

Productivity: Publicly-funded Education

October 2007

UK Centre for the Measurement of Government Activity