School value added
Overall, we can conclude from this years’ school value added scores published by CEPOS that there is a big difference in how good the elementary schools in Denmark, numbering slightly over 1,400, are at increasing their pupils’ grade point average in relation to their socio-economic background.
When comparing schools, it is important to take into account the type of homes that students come from. It will be easier for a school with many children from homes with substantial resources to get high grade point averages than it is for schools with many children from homes, where the parents, for instance, do not have high levels of education. The analysis takes this into account when calculating the ability of schools to lift students.
A school of 1 implies that the students’ average grade in the final test is 1 point higher than what one would expect given the socio-economic background of the students.
In general, private elementary schools are best at lifting their students, but on average public schools also have slightly higher than average value added. On the other hand, continuation schools, on average, drag student grades down.