High Attainment in the 2013 Primary School Performance Tables

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This is a distillation of data about  high attainment and the performance of high attaining learners in the 2013 Primary School Performance Tables.

It draws on the statistics contained in SFR51/2013 – National curriculum assessments at key stage 2: 2012-13.

For the purposes of this post, high attainment is Level 5 and above at KS2.

The definition of high attainers is taken from the School Performance Tables. A distinction between the performance of low, medium and high attaining pupils was first introduced into the 2011 Tables. It is based on prior attainment four years earlier at the end of Key Stage 1.

The User Guide to the Tables explains the distinction thus:

‘Prior attainment definitions are based on KS1 Teacher Assessment (using the KS1 Average Point Score) as follows:

• Low attaining = those below Level 2 at KS1 (ie those with a KS1 APS < 12);
• Middle attaining = those at Level 2 at KS1 (ie those with a KS1 APS >= 12 but <18);
• High attaining = those above Level 2 at KS1 (ie those with a KS1 APS >= 18).

Where a pupil does not have a KS1 assessment (eg. because they weren’t in the country at the time), they will not be included in these figures.’

It follows that this definition will not include learners who are particularly strong in one area and comparatively weak in another, but it will include those who achieve relatively strongly across the board.

The proportions of the KS2 cohort defined as high, middle and low attainers in state-funded schools in 2013 are

	High %	Middle %	Low %
2013	25	57	18

 

Headlines

• The percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 and above is down 4% in reading but up 2% in maths.

• 7% of pupils achieved Level 6 in maths, up from 3% in 2012. This includes a staggering 29% of Chinese pupils. Some 2% of pupils achieved Level 6 in writing and in grammar, spelling and punctuation (GSP), but less than 1% achieved Level 6 in reading.

• According to the Tables, there is a 16% achievement gap between the proportions of advantaged and disadvantaged learners achieving Level 5 and above in reading, writing and maths, up 1% on 2012. But this is a smaller gap than exists at Level 4B and above (21%) and at Level 4 and above (18%).

• On the other hand, the SFR shows that the FSM/non-FSM and advantaged/disadvantaged gaps for each assessment are invariably significantly higher at Level 5 and above than they are at Level 4 and above. The biggest differences are in reading (10 percentage points worse for disadvantaged; 8 percentage points worse for FSM) and in maths (10 percentage points worse for disadvantaged; 7 percentage points worse for FSM).

• A worrying 37% of high attainers in state-funded schools did not achieve Level 5 or above in reading, writing and maths. Not one high attainer achieved this in 64 primary schools.

• Significant numbers of schools had no pupils at Level 6 in each assessment: some 12,700 had none in reading; about 10,750 had none in writing; some 10,200 had none in GSP and over 5,100 had none in maths.

 

Summary of Outcomes in the 2013 Primary Performance Tables

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Aggregated – Reading, Writing and Maths

• Overall, 21% of pupils in state-funded schools achieved Level 5 or above in reading, writing and maths (up 1% from 20% in 2012).

• 25% of girls achieved this (up from 23% in 2012) and 18% of boys did so (up from 17% in 2012) giving an unchanged 7% gender gap. Some 19% of EAL pupils achieved this outcome.

• 10% of disadvantaged pupils achieved this, compared with 26% of other pupils, giving an achievement gap of 16% (in 2012 9% of disadvantaged pupils and 24% of other pupils achieved this, so the gap has increased by 1% since last year). However, this gap is significantly smaller than the 21% gap at Level 4B and the 19% gap at Level 4.

• 63% of the pupils in state-funded schools achieving this benchmark were high attainers, meaning that a worrying 37% of high attainers fell short.  Meanwhile, 10% of middle attainers were successful.

• Almost all high attainers secured Level 4B and above (97%) and Level 4 and above (99%).

• The percentage achieving this benchmark varied by school type from 25% (converter academies); to 21% (LA maintained mainstream schools);  to 14% (free schools); and 10% (sponsored academies).

• One school – Litton C of E Primary (Buxton) – achieved 100% on this measure (six pupils). A dozen schools managed 75% or more, including two with 1FE – Grinling Gibbons Primary School (Lewisham) and Lowbrook Academy (Maidenhead).

• At Grinling Gibbons, 88% of disadvantaged pupils achieved this measure (cohort of 16). Almost 40 schools recorded over 50%, two of them with cohorts of 30+ – Nelson Mandela School (Birmingham) and Tollgate Primary (Newham).

• Seven schools achieved an average point score of 34.0 or above (equivalent to an average Level 5A) the largest being Lowbrook Academy and Fox Primary School (Kensington and Chelsea).

• In over 600 primary schools no pupils achieved this benchmark.  In 64 schools, not one high attainer managed to do so (though, in a handful of these, up to 20% of middle attainers did so).

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Reading

• 44% of pupils in state-funded schools achieved Level 5 or above in reading (This is 4% lower – rounded – than the 48% who did so in 2012).

• Around 2,300 pupils achieved Level 6 – 592 boys and 1,670 girls.

• 18% of boys and 25% of girls achieved Level 5 or higher, giving a gender gap of 7%. Compared with 2012, Level 5 attainment declined significantly more amongst girls compared (down 5%) than boys (down 2%) so the gender gap closed by 3%.

• 86% of high attainers achieved Level 5 or above.

• 87% of those with KS1 reading at Level 3 or higher managed Level 5 – and a further  2% achieved Level 6.

• The FSM gap at Level 5 and above is 21% (48% versus 27%) compared with 13% at Level 4 and above.

• The advantaged/disadvantaged gap at Level 5 and above is 21% (51% versus 30%) compared with 11% at Level 4 and above.

• 89% of high attainers made the expected progress in reading (compared with 92% of middle attainers).

• One primary school – Ilford and Kingston C of E Primary School (Lewes) recorded 19% of its pupils achieving Level 6.

• 18 primary schools recorded 100% achieving Level 5 or above in Reading – no pupils in any of those schools achieved Level 6.

• About 12,700 schools had no pupils at Level 6 in Reading

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Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS)

• 47% of pupils in state-funded schools achieved Level 5 or above in GPS.

• 2% (around 8,600) achieved Level 6 including 3,233 boys and 5,373 girls.

• 7% of Chinese pupils achieved Level 6.

• 42% of boys and 54% of girls achieved Level 5 or above giving a gender gap of 12%.

• 91% of high attainers achieved Level 5 or above.

• The FSM gap at Level 5 and above is 20% (51% versus 31%) compared with 18% at Level 4 and above.

• The advantaged/disadvantaged gap at Level 5 and above is 19% (53% versus 34%) compared with 17% at Level 4 and above.

• In two primary schools – St Joseph’s Catholic Primary (Southwark) and The Vineyard School (Richmond) 38% of pupils achieved Level 6.

• 20 schools had 100% of pupils at Level 5 or above.

• About 10,200 schools posted zero Level 6 results.

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Writing

• 30% of pupils in state-funded schools achieved Level 5 or above in writing teacher assessment.

• 2% (over 8,400 pupils) achieved Level 6 including 2,861 boys and 5,549 girls.

• 80% of those with Level 3 writing at KS1 achieved Level 5 and a further 9% achieved Level 6.

• 76% of high attainers achieved Level 5.

• The FSM gap at Level 5 and above is 19% (34% versus 15%) compared with 16% at Level 4 and above.

• The disadvantaged/non-disadvantaged gap at Level 5 and above is 18% (36% versus 18%) compared with 13% at Level 4 and above.

• 94% of high attainers made the expected progress in writing (compared with 93% of middle attainers).

• At Newton Farm Nursery Infant and Junior School (Harrow) 63% of pupils achieved Level 6.

• Just 4 schools achieved 100% at Level 5 or above – Litton C of E Primary (Buxton), Newton Farm (Harrow), St Joseph’s Hurst Green (Clitheroe) and St Oswald’s C of E Primary (Chester).

• 10,750 schools had no pupils at Level 6.

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Maths

• 41% of pupils in state-funded schools achieved Level 5 or above in maths (up 2% from 39% in 2012).

• 7% (around 35,000 pupils) achieved Level 6 (up 3% – rounded – from 3% in 2012) including 21,388 boys and 13,749 girls.

• 29% of Chinese pupils achieved Level 6  (19% did so in 2012).

• 2% of FSM pupils achieved Level 6.

• 43% of those at Level 5 are boys and 39% are girls (compared with 2012 girls improved by 2% whereas boys improved by only 1%, so narrowing the gender gap slightly).

• 64% of those with Level 3 or above in maths at KS1 made it to Level 5 at KS2 and a further 26% achieved Level 6.

• 83% of high attainers achieved Level 5 or above.

• 93% of high attainers made the expected progress in maths (compared with 90% of middle attainers).

• The FSM gap at Level 5 and above is 20% (44% versus 24%) compared with 13% at Level 4 and above.

• The advantaged/disadvantaged gap at Level 5 and above is 21% (47% versus 26%) compared with 11% at level 4 and above.

• St Oswald’s CE Aided Primary (Chester) had 75% of its entry achieve Level 6 in maths and two other schools exceeded 50% – St Joseph’s RC Primary Hurst Green (Clitheroe) and Haselor School (Alcester).

• 17 schools had 100% of their entry at Level 5 or above.

• In over 5,100 schools no pupils achieved Level 6.

GP

December 2013