A committee of MPs has called for a shake-up in the way school performance is assessed.

A report published by the Commons public accounts committee recommended that external influences should be taken into account.

The MPs argued that including factors such as an area's economic and social deprivation would give parents a better idea of the quality of education provided.

Such changes should be made in time for next year's assessments, MPs said.

"Taking into account external influences outside schools' control can have a dramatic effect on their reported performance," said committee chairman Edward Leigh.

"This enhanced information must be available to parents so that they can take it into account in selecting schools."

The report was welcomed by education minister David Miliband.

"The PAC is right to argue for more not less information for parents about school performance," he said.

"Parents have a right to know as much as they can about how schools are doing.  We want to give them as much as we can, including the range of factors that affect how a school does."

He said that new "value added" information was now being made available to parents.

"We want to go even further with a new annual school profile that will be easily accessible and give parents a broader and deeper understanding of school performance," Miliband added.

"The profile, which is currently out for consultation, will bring together in one place a range of relevant information about how a school serves all its pupils and what it offers in terms of a broader curriculum.

"The PAC report is a valuable contribution to determining what should be within that profile."