This study paper discusses methods whereby Danish upper-secondary level vocational training schools can be benchmarked, and presents results from a number of models. It is conceptually complicated to benchmark vocational training institutions, as the schools offer a wide range of course programmes. This makes it difficult to compare the resources used, since some programmes by their nature require more classroom time and equipment than others. It is also far from straightforward to compare school effects with respect to grades, since the various programmes apply very different forms of assessment. In addition to these conceptual challenges, analyses of vocational training schools present difficulties with respect to data. It is difficult in many cases to be certain of correspondences between resources used and student-related factors, since students are registered at a college level, while resources used are recorded at a higher level, i.e. that of umbrella institutions administering programmes at several colleges. In the working paper itself, analyses are restricted to around 40 vocational colleges where it was possible to be certain of the correspondence between resource use and student achievement. An attempt is also made to summarise the various impacts of the schools in the form of two generally relevant effects, namely retention of students and employment of graduates.
