People are being asked for their opinions on proposed "report cards" rating systems for English schools.
Teachers, governors and parents are being asked their opinions on proposed "report cards" rating systems for English schools.
A range of factors - which may include test results, the wellbeing of pupils and the views of parents and learners - would be taken into consideration to give educational establishments a grade similar to a GCSE or A level mark, if the measures are adopted.
Schools secretary Ed Balls said he wishes to reduce the amount of "detective work" parents are required to do in order to gain information about a school, adding that a report card - if adopted - will not "pull its punches".
Mr Balls, who is also the MP for the Normanton constituency, added the cards are not intended to replace school league tables, reminding people that the government does not produce the yearly tables which rank educational institutions on their results.
The government, he said, generates an array of data about the seats of learning, which the media then turns into rankings.
Should they be adopted, the report cards would be piloted in the period between autumn 2009 and spring 2011, the BBC notes.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families stated the moves are intended to be demonstrative of the ways in which institutions are moving towards being 21st Century Schools.
It said: "21st Century Schools will be hubs for the community, providing access to a range of services for children, young people and families ... These might include health, family support, adult learning and leisure activities."
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