Results reveal drop in pupils’ attainment

The first assessments since the pandemic show a drop in pupils in Bath and North East Somerset reaching the expected level in reading, writing and maths by the end of primary school.

Figures from the Department for Education show 58 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in all three Key Stage 2 assessments – reading, writing and maths – earlier this year. That was down from 67 per cent in 2019.

These were the first assessments since the pandemic saw tests cancelled in 2020 and 2021.

Pupils experienced disruption to their learning during the pandemic, particularly at the end of Year 4 and in Year 5.

The proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard across the three subjects also dropped, from 13 per cent to 7 per cent.

Among pupils in Bath and North East Somerset, 78 per cent reached the expected standard in reading, up from 77 per cent in 2019.

For maths, 73 per cent reached the expected standard, down from 80 per cent before the pandemic. In writing, 69 per cent reached the expected standard, a drop from 82 per cent in 2019.

Across England, attainment increased slightly in reading and fell in all other subjects compared to 2019 at both the expected and higher standard.

Across the combined measure, attainment also decreased compared to 2019 at both the expected and higher standard.

The Department for Education considers meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths to be key for success in secondary school and beyond.

Overall, 59 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, down from 65 per cent in 2019, while 7 per cent of pupils met the higher standard in reading, writing and maths, down from 11 per cent.

When it was launched in February, the Government set an aim in its Levelling Up plan that, by 2030, the number of primary school children achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths will have significantly increased.

In England, that would mean 90 per cent of children will achieve the expected standard, and the percentage of children meeting the expected standard in the worst performing areas will have increased by over a third.

The figures also show that while attainment has fallen for most groups of pupils, it has increased more for some than others.

The disadvantage gap index – which measures the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others – has increased from 2.91 in 2019 to 3.21 in 2022.

This index reduced between 2011 and 2018, before remaining at a similar level between 2018 and 2019. The index has increased in 2022 to the highest level since 2012, suggesting that disruption to learning in the pandemic has had a greater impact on disadvantaged pupils.

Attainment has fallen compared to 2019 for both disadvantaged pupils and other pupils at the expected and higher standards in all subjects except for reading.

However, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils has fallen further.

Attainment fell among both girls and boys in all subjects except reading, however the fall was slightly larger for girls.