Accountability—can it be fair?

Deming's concepts of ‘special cause’ and ‘common cause’ effects were applied to measures of A level provision in schools and colleges using multi‐level models to look at a large dataset covering three years. The data were used to discuss accountability using a school effectiveness approach to identify who might reasonably be said to be responsible for what. The analyses, in common with many school effectiveness studies, consistently found differences between institutions and departments within those institutions but there was no evidence of differential effectiveness with various groupings such as male/female or less/more able or less/more affluent. Differences were found between the progress made by males and females as well as by the less and more able but these differences appeared to be due to ‘common causes’ and it is argued that no sixth form should be held accountable for these differences.