Key stage 2 attainment: National headlines
Accredited official statistics on the headline statistics on attainment in key stage 2 national curriculum assessments in England.
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- Department for Education
- Published
Background information
This publication provides the latest headline statistics on attainment in key stage 2 national curriculum assessments in England.
This is the first publication of key stage 2 attainment statistics since 2019 due to cancellation of 2020 and 2021 assessments during the pandemic.
These statistics cover attainment in the following assessments taken by pupils at the end of year 6, when most are age 11:
- Reading test
- Maths test
- Grammar, punctuation and spelling test
- Writing teacher assessment
- Science teacher assessment
Attainment in 2022 is compared to 2019 and previous years where possible.
Headline facts and figures
Attainment in reading, writing and maths
The Department for Education considers meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths to be key for success in secondary school and beyond. Therefore, we report on the proportion of pupils who meet the expected standard in all three of these subjects.
In 2022, 59% of pupils reached the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths, down from 65% in 2019. Attainment in all of reading, writing and maths is not directly comparable to some earlier years (2016 and 2017) because of changes to writing teacher assessment frameworks in 2018.
This decrease in attainment in reading, writing and maths is due to decreases in attainment in writing and maths (see ‘Attainment in individual subjects’ section).
Earlier this year, the Department announced a Levelling Up mission (opens in new tab) for 90% of pupils to meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of key stage 2 by 2030.
Attainment in individual subjects
In reading, 74% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2022, up from 73% in 2019.
In writing teacher assessment, 69% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2022, down from 78% in 2019. Attainment in writing is not directly comparable to some earlier years (2016 and 2017) because of changes to writing teacher assessment frameworks in 2018.
In maths, 71% of pupils reached the expected standard, down from 79% in 2019.
Among reading, writing and maths, attainment is now highest in reading. This is a reversal from previous years (2016 to 2019) when attainment was lowest in this subject. Of these three subjects, attainment is now lowest in writing.
In grammar, punctuation and spelling, 72% of pupils reached the expected standard, down from 78% in 2019. This is the lowest figure since new assessments were introduced in 2016, when 73% of pupils met the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling.
In science teacher assessment, 79% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2022, down from 83% in 2019. Attainment in science is not directly comparable to some earlier years (2016, 2017 and 2018) because of changes to science teacher assessment frameworks in 2019.
Among all subjects, the largest fall in attainment compared to 2019 was in writing (9 percentage points), followed by maths (7 percentage points), grammar, punctuation and spelling (6 percentage points) and science (4 percentage points).
Average scaled scores in reading, maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling
We use scaled scores (opens in new tab) to report the results of tests so we can make accurate comparisons of performance over time.
In reading, the average scaled score is 105, up from 104 in 2019.
In maths, the average scaled score is 104, down from 105 in 2019.
In grammar, punctuation and spelling, the average scaled score is 105, down from 106 in 2019.
The average scaled score is the mean scaled score of all pupils awarded a scaled score. It gives us a measure of the typical performance of a pupil taking the tests. It is affected by the performance of pupils at all points in the range of scores. By contrast, the percentage of pupils achieving the expected standard focuses on the proportion of pupils above or below one particular score (100).
About these statistics
This publication provides headline statistics for attainment in key stage 2 national curriculum assessments for pupils in schools in England. It provides key figures at national level to help schools and parents put results in context.
1. The expected standard
Key stage 2 assessments tell us if pupils have met the expected standard in five subjects by the end of primary school:
- reading
- maths
- writing
- grammar, punctuation and spelling
- science
Tests are used to assess pupils in reading, maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling. Teacher assessment is used to assess pupils in writing and science.
In the tests, pupils meet the expected standard if they achieve a scaled score of 100 or more. The test frameworks (opens in new tab) provide performance descriptors for the typical characteristics of pupils working at the expected standard.
The teacher assessment frameworks (opens in new tab) include ‘pupil can’ statements. For example, ‘the pupil can maintain legibility in joined handwriting when writing at speed’. To meet the expected standard, the teacher must judge there to be evidence that the pupil can meet all of the relevant statements.
DfE raised the expected standard in 2016 (opens in new tab), following the introduction of a new, more challenging national curriculum in 2014.
DfE considers meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths to be key for success in secondary school and beyond. Therefore, we report on the proportion of pupils who meet the expected standard in these three subjects.
Pupils not meeting the expected standard
It is incorrect to say that pupils who have not met the expected standard in reading cannot read, or that those who have not met the expected standard in writing cannot write, and so on.
There is a spectrum of attainment among pupils who do not meet the expected standard, with some coming close and others further away.
A pupil who achieves below the expected standard will still be able to read. For example, they may be able to retrieve simple information from a text but be unable to make developed inferences about what they have read.
We also classify pupils as not meeting the expected standard when it has not been possible to assess their ability, for example, because of absence. This is the case for less than 1% of pupils.
2. Technical information
National curriculum assessment figures published here are based on test and teacher assessment data provided to the Department by the Standards and Testing Agency on 2 July 2022.
This data contained all available marked key stage 2 tests and teacher assessments:
- Reading test: 99.8%
- Maths test: 99.5%
- Grammar, punctuation and spelling test: 99.5%
- Writing teacher assessment: 96.8%
- Science teacher assessment: 96.8%
These volumes are lower than in 2019, however we have assessed them to be sufficient to produce national-level headline figures.
See the methodology for further detail.
Further information will be available
Further provisional statistics will be published on 6 September 2022 in the ‘National curriculum assessments: key stage 2 (provisional)’ publication.
Revised figures will be published in the ‘National curriculum assessments at key stage 2 (revised)’ publication in December 2022.
1. National level figures broken down by pupil and school characteristics
National level data with pupil characteristics breakdowns, including data broken down by gender, ethnicity, month of birth, free school meal eligibility, special educational needs provision, disadvantage and the disadvantage gap index, will be published in the provisional publication on 6 September.
School characteristics breakdowns, including school type, phase, cohort size and religious character, will also be published on 6 September.
2. Regional, local authority and local authority district level figures
Regional, local authority and local authority district level data - including data broken down by gender - will be published in the provisional publication on 6 September.
Regional, local authority and local authority district level data with pupil characteristics breakdowns will be published in the revised publication in December.
3. Progress measures
Progress measures for different pupil groups and for local authorities will be published in the revised publication in December.
4. School level figures
We will not publish key stage 2 data for academic year 2021/22 in performance tables (also known as Compare School and College Performance). The Department will, however, still produce the normal suite of key stage 2 accountability measures at school and multi-academy trust level and share these securely with primary schools, academy trusts and local authorities to inform school improvement discussions.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Key stage 2 attainment: National headlines statistics and data:
Primary Attainment Statistics
Email: Primary.ATTAINMENT@education.gov.ukContact name: Lilian Williams
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