The Role of Ranking and the Technical Efficiency of Singapore Secondary Schools in the GCE `O' level exam: Using a Distance Function Approach

This study investigates two common lines of debate concerning secondary school education in Singapore. The first is whether ranking data released for the top 50 performing secondary schools since 1991 is a true reflection of actual performance by schools. The second is the debate about whether the use of ranking data has actually improved technical efficiency among schools, ie. reducing the variation between schools, due to the transparency of the assessment criteria. Twenty-one secondary schools are evaluated over a rolling four year assessment period from 1991-2001 on their performance in the GCE 'O' level examination.