Dysfunctional Effects of League Tables: A Comparison Between English and Scottish Primary Schools

League tables based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have become an important part of the management of the UK's education system. While the performance measured by KPIs has apparently improved, concerns have been raised that they may have unintended or dysfunctional effects. This article c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public money & management 2002-01, Vol.22 (1), p.43-48
Main Authors: Wiggins, Andy, Tymms, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Comparative analysis
Effects
Elementary schools
England
Finance
Gender
Indicators
Occupations
Primary schools
Public administration
Public management
Ratings & rankings
Scotland
United Kingdom
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Summary:League tables based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have become an important part of the management of the UK's education system. While the performance measured by KPIs has apparently improved, concerns have been raised that they may have unintended or dysfunctional effects. This article compares English with Scottish schools. The authors found that English primary schools perceive their KPI systems (with league tables), as being significantly more dysfunctional than those of their Scottish counterparts (without tables). The article provides empirical evidence to support the many arguments that high-stakes single proxy indicators can have significant dysfunctional effects.
ISSN:0954-0962
1467-9302
DOI:10.1111/1467-9302.00295