School Performance Reporting and Data

Overview

• Schools use a range of data and performance reporting products to inform school improvement and planning, for example, annual implementation plans, and improve teaching and learning.
• The department uses Differentiated School Performance Groups (performance group) to inform how it undertakes school reviews and supports schools’ improvement processes. The 5 performance groups are:
  • transform
  • stretch
  • influence
  • renew
  • recharge.
• Schools will usually receive a school performance report towards the end of the year.
• In 2021 the methodology for performance groups was refined in one domain: the ‘school climate’ domain now includes the instructional leadership factor from the School Staff Survey.
• Data coaches are available to help schools interpret and use school data most effectively.

Advice

School performance reports

For more information about school performance groups, performance reports and benchmark growth, refer to the Guidance tab.

Panorama

Panorama (staff login required) is home to your school's performance data. Panorama supports your school to identify school strengths and potential areas for improvement.

The Panorama site provides a list of Frequently asked questions (staff login required) about the features of the site and available data.

Data available on Panorama

Panorama provides your school's information and data through its dashboards and reports. Information you will find includes:

• enrolments and projections
• NAPLAN
• teacher judgement
• VCE achievement
• average and chronic absences
• student, staff and parent opinions
• similar school comparisons (dashboards and supplementary school reports).

Accessing Panorama

The dashboards and reports are available using the main icons on the Panorama homepage.

Panorama dashboards and reports are available to principals. Principals can delegate access to dashboards to staff within their school.

Further information on accessing and delegating access are available on the Panorama support page (staff login required).

If you access Panorama regularly, add it as an application in My workspace (staff login required).

Data use

The department encourages the sharing of performance information within the school community. This includes school staff, students, councils and key stakeholders.

The information provided through Panorama is intended to support detailed and structured conversations on school improvement and aid ongoing monitoring, understanding and planning. We do ask, however, that you take all necessary precautions to prevent unauthorised access to, or copying of, Panorama information.

The department's senior education improvement leaders (SEILs) and EILs use the data from Panorama to help guide discussions with schools. They can also provide insight into practices at high performing similar schools that feature in Panorama dashboards and supplementary school reports.

Data coaching and support

To assist with navigating Panorama dashboards, identifying key features and reading the various charts and tables, support materials, such as further information sheets, hover text and videos, are available.

Data coaching services are available to help schools interpret and use school data most effectively. Data coaches are experienced in using evidence to support school improvement discussions with leadership teams.

Data coaches offer customised support to schools and principal networks in the effective use of performance reporting products such as:

• Panorama dashboards and reports (staff login required)
• School performance reports (staff login required)

Available services

Data coaches can support your school to:

• use data to review the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) and School Strategic Plan (SSP) (in the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT))
• use data to support pre-review self-evaluation activities as part of the School Review process
• use data to better understand a school or network’s performance, and support self-assessment
• understand specific data sets and results, for example, the Attitude to Schools survey, Teacher Judgement and NAPLAN in the Panorama dashboards and other department school level reports
• improve general data literacy of leadership teams and/or for staff using Panorama and other reporting and data products such as school performance reports.

Access data coaching services

Department data coaches can work with principals, school leadership teams or attend principal network meeting to support the use of data and evidence to inform school improvement planning.

To request a meeting with a data coach, complete the data coach support form (staff login required).

Schools can also access support via phone and email – refer to contact information.

Related policies

• Annual Implementation Plan (AIP)
• Data Collection and Surveys
• School Review
• School Strategic Plan

Differentiated School Performance Groups

Differentiated School Performance Groups (performance groups) are a method of reporting school performance that sits alongside the school review model and differentiated supports for school improvement.

This approach:

• utilises 2 dimensions of performance results:
  • current performance
  • change in performance over time
  • using selected school performance measures
• aggregates each school’s results across 6 performance domains:
  • achievement
  • school climate
  • student attitudes
  • participation
  • engagement
  • senior secondary
• assigns schools to a performance group, based upon their aggregated domain level results:
  • transform
  • stretch
  • influence
  • renew
  • recharge.

Further information on each performance group is available below.

The performance groups inform the types of differentiated support each school will receive to achieve improvement, based upon their specific needs and context.

Schools are allocated to a performance group through the Differentiated School Performance Method that utilises 2 dimensions of performance results – current performance and change in performance over time – using selected school performance measures.

The method undertaken to generate the school performance groups replaced the school improvement measures and associated school threshold reports in 2017.

What allocation to a performance group means for schools

Your school’s performance group and validated pre-review self-evaluation outcomes will be used to tailor the duration and focus of your school review.

Your performance group will also inform the frequency of monitoring from the Department and range of differentiated supports your school will receive following review completion.

School performance report

The level of detail provided by the school performance report supports schools to improve their strategic planning by identifying key areas for improvement, and enabling schools to access targeted supports for improved outcomes.

The Resources tab provides a guide on how to read your performance report.

Benchmark growth – the new measure of NAPLAN learning gain

In 2019, ‘benchmark growth’ replaced ‘relative growth’ as the NAPLAN learning gain measure in your School Performance Report; contributing to 60% of your school’s reading and numeracy performance.

The benchmark growth measure uses a set of historical matched NAPLAN data to set thresholds that define low, medium and high growth. This means NAPLAN learning gain can be viewed at:

• an individual student level
• school level
• system level.

By comparing student growth to a fixed ‘benchmark’, the benchmark growth measure enables:

• improvements in NAPLAN learning gain to be measured across the entire system
• learning growth to be tracked over time, for individual schools.

For more information refer to the Differentiated School Performance Method 2021 (PDF) (staff login required).

Access your school performance report

To access your report, refer to: School performance reports (staff login required).

Save this link in the 'applications' section of your My workspace for quick and easy access next time.

Resources

Useful links

• Panorama homepage (staff login required)
• Panorama – frequently asked questions (staff login required)
• Panorama – School Performance Reports (staff login required)
• Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT) (staff login required)
• Guide to improvement measures 2023 (PDF) (staff login required)
• Guide to improvement measures 2023 (DOCX) (staff login required)
• How to read your School Performance Report 2023 (PDF) (staff login required)
• How to read your School Performance Report 2023 (DOCX) (staff login required)
• Overview of school performance approach 2023 (PDF) (staff login required)
• Overview of school performance approach 2023 (DOCX) (staff login required)
• Technical document – aggregation and weights 2023 (PDF) (staff login required)
• Technical document – aggregation and weights 2023 (DOCX) (staff login required)
• Technical document – split point information 2023 (PDF) (staff login required)
• Technical document – split point information 2023 (DOCX) (staff login required)
• Differentiated School Performance Method 2023 frequently asked questions (PDF) (staff login required)
• Differentiated School Performance Method 2023 frequently asked questions (DOCX) (staff login required)