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In advance of the forthcoming A level and GCSE results, the Institute of Directors (IoD) today publishes its 2008 Education Briefing Book, highlighting a wide disparity between official statistics on education performance and the perceptions of employers.

The Briefing Book, produced in association with the Curriculum, Evaluation and Management (CEM) Centre at Durham University, presents official data on results in primary, secondary and higher education together with three alternative perspectives: the business view, based on a new survey of IoD members; a view from university admissions tutors; and a summary of academic research into changes in education standards.

Key findings from the IoD survey include:

• Only 12% of IoD members feel the Government’s performance on education and skills has been favourable to business over the last 10 years. 55% believe it to have been unfavourable.

• IoD members believe the quality of education provided by schools, colleges and universities has declined over the last ten years. The deterioration is perceived to be most acute at school level: 27% of directors thought the quality of education in schools had improved, compared to 47% believing it had got worse.

• Employers consider young people’s proficiency in a range of skills has weakened over the last decade, particularly in writing and mathematics. However, the overwhelming majority of directors feel IT skills have improved and that young people bring other qualities to their work, such as enthusiasm, flexibility and energy.

Other research included in the Briefing Book also casts doubt on the extent of improvement suggested by official figures:

• A comprehensive review of academic research into education standards conducted by the CEM Centre suggests official statistics might overstate the actual improvement in educational performance. The efforts to improve have been considerable; the benefits “modest at best”.

• In a sample survey of 100 university admissions tutors, 72% thought the quality of undergraduates beginning a course in their department had either remained the same (32%) or deteriorated (41%) over the course of their involvement with admissions. 28% thought the quality of students had risen.

Commenting on the Briefing Book findings, Miles Templeman, Director General of the IoD, said:

“It is clear that, despite the impressive political energy and resources focused on education, IoD members believe the Government has generally performed poorly in this critical arena. There is a substantial ‘credibility gap’ between what official statistics show and what employers feel on the front line.

“It is probably impossible to determine definitively the extent to which education services have improved or otherwise over the last decade. However, the analysis conducted for the Briefing Book suggests that we approach official statistics with caution. This matters. Education and skills are a key driver of productivity and vital to the UK’s competitiveness. Even at face value the official figures illustrate a need for a step change in performance to meet future skill needs. The true international challenge could be even greater.”

Contact Points:

Caroline Fanaroko, Head of Media Relations, Tel: 0207 451 3278
Mobile and out of hours: 07720 556445
Email. Press@iod.com
Web. http://press.iod.com

Claire Whitelaw
Media and Public Affairs Manager
Durham University
Direct tel: +44 (0) 191 334 6803
c.m.whitelaw@durham.ac.uk

Notes to editors

• The IoD (Institute of Directors) was founded in 1903 and obtained a Royal Charter in 1906. The IoD is a non-party political organisation with upwards of 52,000 members in the United Kingdom and overseas. Membership includes directors from right across the business spectrum – from media to manufacturing, e-business to the public and voluntary sectors. Members include CEOs of large corporations as well as entrepreneurial directors of start-up companies.

• Geographical coverage of the 2008 IoD Education Briefing Book: much of the data in the Briefing Book relates to England. Where possible, it includes data for the United Kingdom as a whole as well as statistics for the constituent countries. The survey of 500 directors contained in the report uses a sample representative of the IoD’s membership as a whole and therefore draws on the responses of members from across the UK. The survey of admissions tutors was conducted on the IoD’s behalf by the Curriculum, Evaluation and Management (CEM) Centre at Durham University. There were 111 respondents, at least one from each of the four countries of the UK. The summary of academic research into changes in education standards contributed by CEM focuses largely on England but cites data from the A Level Information System (ALIS) and Year 11 Information System (Yellis) which include, and should be fairly representative of, Wales and Northern Ireland. The international studies quoted also contain information pertaining to Scotland.

• About CEM: since its inception in 1981, Durham University’s CEM Centre has earned a reputation as an internationally renowned research centre. It exists to support schools in striving to improve the education they provide. All income is re-invested in research and development towards this aim. The CEM Centre has introduced pioneering systems for school self evaluation, pupil assessment and performance management, significantly contributing to the body of educational knowledge and research.

• Over the last 25 years the CEM Centre has provided assessment, attitude and performance data on millions of pupils to thousands of British and International schools. It is one of the largest suppliers of performance indicators to schools and colleges in the UK, the largest UK educational research unit within a university, and widely acknowledged as an organisation synonymous with research excellence.

• The IoD offers a wide range of business services which include business centre facilities (including ten UK regional centres three in London, Reading, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Belfast and one each in Paris and Brussels), conferences, networking events, issues-led guides and literature, as well as free access to business information and advisory services and a comprehensive Information Centre. The IoD places great emphasis on director development and has established a certified qualification for directors - Chartered Director - as well as running specific board-level and director-level training and individual career mentoring programmes.

• In addition, the IoD provides an effective voice to represent the interests of its members to government and key opinion-formers at the highest levels. These include ministers, constituency MPs, Select Committee members and senior civil servants. IoD policies and views are actively promoted to the national, regional and trade media.

2008 Education Briefing Book

• For further information, visit our website: http://www.iod.com