Contextual value added (CVA) is a statistic that was used by the government of the United Kingdom to assess the performance of schools.
[1] The statistic is intended to show the progress children have made whilst attending a particular school.
[2] The factors are[6] In 2009, there will additionally be bonuses provided for the inclusion of English and mathematics- these are based on a pilot which took place in 2008.
[2] In particular, CVA has a margin of error, and the degree of uncertainty in the score increases as the size of the cohort decreases.
The nature of Contextual Value Added being averaged across the country also means that it is not possible to directly compare an individual school's score across a number of years.