Schools which are likely to be in the band one group can now heave a sigh of relief—they no longer have to fight tooth and nail for the top spot. Those which are banded lower will have to work harder. Banding is of course still a label, but even for schools which are banded in the lowest category, it will be comforting to know that they have company and that they can support and help each other to do better.
Subjects like art and sports for banding purposes are also suggested to be included. This may provide a way out of the predicament and do away with some of the undesirable consequences of rankings.
To begin with, a school should not be judged only on its academic results. It is time for us to change our mindset so that we do not lose sight of the basic purpose of education.

An indicator that is useful must be accurate, timely and reliable. It depends entirely on the integrity of the national statistical system responsible. It is vital to know the accurate components of an indicator. We have to be mindful of the limitation of these statistical figures too.
Some indicators can be historic or extremely volatile, and therefore their value are reduced. It is better to compare the most recent data with earlier months, or take a moving average for the past 3, 6 or 12 months to smooth the data. It will tell us if there has been a significant change in trend and whether a new direction is under way.
Timeliness of an indicator is also significant. Although the reported figures are important, it is crucial to recognise that markets react to the variance to the consensus forecast than to the absolute change in the indicator.