In 2002, we commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to carry out a five year evaluation of the Academies programme, the core aim of which was to assess the effect of Academies on academic performance. Their fifth and final report was published in November 2008 and we are currently exploring the options for future evaluation of the programme.
The National Audit Office and the National Foundation for Education Research and the Local Government Association have also conducted studies of Academies. In addition, as with all schools, Academies are inspected by Ofsted and their reports are published as are the GCSE results for individual Academies.
The information we have tells us that in general, standards in Academies are rising at a faster rate than national average.