Academic year 2023/24

Key stage 2 attainment

This is the latest data

• Published: 10 September 2024
• Next update: December 2024
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This publication provides provisional attainment  statistics for key stage 2 national curriculum assessments in England. It extends the Key stage 2: National headlines statistics published on 9 July 2024. 

These statistics cover attainment in assessments taken by pupils at the end of year 6, when most are age 11. 

 It includes results for pupils in schools in England:

• at national level, broken down by the following pupil characteristics: gender, disadvantage, free school meal eligibility, ethnicity, special educational need status, first language and month of birth;
• at national level, broken down by the following school characteristics: school type, school phase, cohort size and school religious character;
• at regional and local authority level, broken down by pupil characteristics: gender, disadvantage, free school meal eligibility, ethnicity, special educational need status and first language;
• at local authority district level for school location and pupil residency, broken down by disadvantage, free school meal eligibility and school type. 

Some of these breakdowns are not discussed in the text but can be accessed via the table tool or by downloading the data files.

All gaps and percentage point differences are calculated from unrounded figures. 

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Headline facts and figures - 2023/24

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Attainment in reading, writing and maths (combined)

In 2024, 61% of pupils reached the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths (combined), up from 60% in 2023. This is below 2019 attainment, where 65% of pupils met the standard. 

The percentage of pupils meeting the higher standard in reading, writing, and maths (combined) remained at 8% in 2024, unchanged from 2023.

Attainment in all of reading, writing and maths (combined) is not directly comparable to some earlier years (2016 and 2017) because of changes to writing teacher assessment frameworks in 2018.

Data is not available for 2020 and 2021 as assessments were cancelled in these years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attainment in individual subjects

In reading, 74% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2024, up from 73% in 2023. This figure has fluctuated between 72% and 75% since 2017. 

In writing teacher assessment, 72% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2024, up from 71% in 2023. Before the pandemic, in both 2018 and 2019, this figure was 78%.  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, 73% of pupils reached the expected standard, unchanged since 2023. Before the pandemic, this figure increased from 70% to 79% between 2016 and 2019. 

Attainment amongst reading, writing and maths was lowest in writing, as in 2023. Before the pandemic, with the exception of 2018 where it was the same as maths, attainment amongst these three subjects was lowest in reading. 

In grammar, punctuation and spelling, 72% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2024. This remains unchanged since 2022, where it was the lowest figure since new assessments were introduced in 2016. 

In science teacher assessment, 81% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2024, up from 80% in 2023. Before the pandemic in 2019, this figure was 83%.  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. 

Attainment at the higher standard

In reading, 28% of pupils met the higher standard, down from 29% in 2023. 

In writing teacher assessment, 13% of pupils achieved greater depth, unchanged since 2022. Before the pandemic, in both 2018 and 2019, this figure was 20%. 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, 24% of pupils met the higher standard, unchanged since 2023. Before the pandemic, this figure had risen from 17% to 27% between 2016 and 2019. 

Among reading, writing and maths, attainment at the higher standard is highest in reading. From 2016 to 2018, reading was also highest. In 2019, reading and maths were highest at 27%. Attainment of the higher standard in these three subjects remains lowest in writing. 

In grammar, punctuation and spelling, 32% of pupils met the higher standard, up from 30% in 2023. Before the pandemic, this figure had risen from 23% to 36% between 2016 and 2019. 

There is no higher standard for science.

Average scaled scores in reading, maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling

We use scaled scores  (opens in a new tab) to report the results of tests so we can make accurate comparisons of performance over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120. The total number of marks a pupil achieves in each test subject (raw score) is converted into a scaled score to ensure accurate comparisons can be made over time, even if the difficulty of the test itself varies. 

The average scaled scores in reading, maths, and grammar, punctuation and spelling tests have remained the same as 2023. 

In reading, the average scaled score is 105, unchanged since 2022. 

In maths, the average scaled score is 104, unchanged since 2022.

In grammar, punctuation and spelling, the average scaled score is 105, unchanged since 2022. 

The average scaled score is the mean scaled score of all pupils awarded a scaled score. It only includes pupils who took the test and achieved 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). As a consequence, changes in one measure may not be matched by changes in the other measure of the same size and direction.

Attainment by pupil characteristics

This section looks at key stage 2 attainment by gender, disadvantage, special educational need (SEN) status, first language, ethnicity and month of birth. 

The figures for disadvantaged pupils in this publication are provisional and do not include pupils in the care of a local authority unless they were eligible for free school meals during the last 6 years or ceased to be looked-after in the last year.

Attainment by gender

Girls continue to outperform boys at the expected standard in all subjects in 2024, except for maths where boys performed slightly better (1 percentage point difference). In reading, 78% of girls and 71% of boys met the expected standard, up from 76% and 70% in 2023, respectively. 

The biggest attainment gap between boys and girls remains in the writing teacher assessment at 13 percentage points. 

In reading, writing and maths (combined) in 2024, 64% of girls met the expected standard compared to 57% of boys, a gap of 7 percentage points, unchanged since 2023.

Attainment at the higher standard 

Among individual subjects at the higher standard, the gender gap increased in reading from 6 percentage points in 2023 to 7 percentage points in 2024.

In maths, the gender gap decreased from 6 percentage points in 2023 to 5 percentage points in 2024. In writing, the attainment for both boys and girls decreased, however, the gender gap remained the same at 6 percentage points, since 2023.

In 2024, 9% of girls met the higher standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), unchanged since 2023 but down from 13% in 2019. Among boys, 6% met the higher standard, down from 7% in 2023 and down from 9% in 2019. Based on unrounded data, the gender gap at the higher standard remained at 2 percentage points in 2024, unchanged from 2023.

Disadvantage gap index 

Disadvantaged pupils are ordinarily defined as: those who were registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, children looked after by a local authority or have left local authority care in England and Wales through adoption, a special guardianship order, a residence order or a child arrangements order.  

The disadvantage gap index summarises the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils.

The gap index is more resilient to changes to assessment than attainment threshold measures and therefore offers greater comparability between years. The index ranks all pupils in the country and assesses the difference in the average position of disadvantaged pupils and others. A disadvantage gap of zero would indicate that there is no difference between the average performance of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils. We measure whether the disadvantage gap is getting larger or smaller over time. Note that changes to free school meal eligibility in place from April 2018 affect the disadvantaged cohort. See the methodology for further information. 

The disadvantage gap index has reduced from 3.21 in 2023 to 3.12 in 2024. 

The 2024 disadvantage statistics are provisional and do not include pupils in the care of a local authority unless they were eligible for free school meals during the last 6 years or ceased to be looked-after in the last year.

The disadvantage gap index had reduced between 2011 and 2018 - indicating that the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers was becoming smaller - before remaining at a similar level between 2018 and 2019 and increasing in 2022 to the highest level since 2012. 

Attainment by disadvantage status

Disadvantaged pupils are ordinarily defined as: those who were registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, children looked after by a local authority or have left local authority care in England and Wales through adoption, a special guardianship order, a residence order or a child arrangements order. 

Note that changes to free school meal eligibility in place from April 2018 affect the disadvantaged cohort. See the methodology for further information. 

The 2024 disadvantage statistics are provisional and do not include pupils in the care of a local authority unless they were eligible for free school meals during the last 6 years or ceased to be looked-after in the last year.

In 2024, 31% of pupils at the end of key stage 2 were considered disadvantaged.

In reading, writing and maths (combined), 45% of disadvantaged pupils met the expected standard in 2024 compared to 67% of other pupils, both increasing by 1 percentage point since 2023, keeping the gap at 22 percentage points.

In 2024, 3% of disadvantaged pupils met the higher standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), while 10% of other pupils met the higher standard. Both figures are unchanged since 2023.

Attainment in reading has increased compared to 2023 for both groups. Attainment in writing increased for non-disadvantaged pupils but remained at the same level as 2023 for disadvantaged pupils, whilst attainment in maths remained the same for both groups. Only in reading is attainment at or above levels seen before the pandemic (equal for disadvantaged pupils, with an increase of 1 percentage point for non-disadvantaged pupils)

The disadvantage gap in 2024 is similar across subjects, ranging from 17 percentage points in reading and science to 20 percentage points in maths and writing. 

Attainment by Special Educational Need (SEN) status

In 2024, 21% of pupils at the end of key stage 2 had a special educational need (SEN). Pupils with SEN either have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or receive SEN support. In 2024, 5% of all pupils had an EHCP and 16% were on SEN support.

In 2024, 21% of pupils with SEN met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), up from 20% in 2023. Of those pupils on SEN support, 26% met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), up from 24% in 2023, whilst 9% of those pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan met the standard, up from 8% in 2023. 

Attainment by first language 

In 2024, 23% of pupils at the end of key stage 2 had a first language other than English.

In 2024, 62% of pupils with first language other than English met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), up from 60% in 2023 and down from 64% in 2019. Among pupils with English as their first language, 60% met the expected standard, unchanged since 2023 but below 2019 attainment (65%).

Attainment in reading has increased since 2023 for both groups with English and a language other than English as their first language at the expected standard. Attainment for pupils with English as their first language increased from 74% in 2023 to 75% in 2024. Before the pandemic in 2019, this figure was also 74%. For pupils with a first language other than English attainment increased from 70% in 2023 to 72% in 2024. This figure was 70% in 2019. The gap in reading attainment between pupils with English as a first language and a first language other than English is now at 3 percentage points. 

In writing, 72% of pupils with English as their first language met the expected standard, unchanged since 2023. Similarly, 72% of pupils with a first language other than English met the expected standard in writing, up from 71% in 2023. 

In maths, 72% of pupils with English as their first language met the expected standard, unchanged since 2023. Attainment since 2023 also remained the same among pupils with a first language other than English (77%). Attainment for both groups in writing and maths remains below pre-pandemic levels.

In 2024, 8% of pupils with a first language other than English met the higher standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), down from 9% in 2023 and down from 11% in 2019.  Among pupils with English as their first language, 7% achieved the higher standard in 2024, down from 8% in 2023 and 11% in 2019. 

Attainment by ethnicity

Attainment at the end of key stage 2 varies by ethnicity.

In 2024, Chinese pupils are the highest performing group in all of reading, writing and maths (74% of pupils met the expected standard). The second highest performing group is Indian pupils (73%), a change from 2023 when Indian pupils were the  highest performing group (73%). 

Gypsy/Roma pupils are the lowest performing group (18% met the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths), followed by Traveller of Irish heritage pupils (20%).

Following feedback from users, the Office for National Statistics updated their guidelines on ethnic groups (opens in a new tab). We have therefore included Chinese pupils in the Asian ethnic group in this publication since 2022. This was a change from previous years when Chinese pupils were reported separately. This change has been backdated to 2016 to allow comparisons over time. Figures for Chinese pupils only are still available via the table tool (within subject 'Key stage 2 attainment by pupil characteristics') and the data file ‘ks2_national_pupil_characteristics_2016_to_2024_provisional.csv.’

Attainment by month of birth

In 2024, pupils born in September were the highest achieving group in all of reading, writing and maths (combined), 67% of pupils met the expected standard, up from 66% in 2023.. 

Pupils born in August were the lowest achieving group, 54% of this group met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined), up from 53% in 2023.

Among the individual subjects of reading, writing and maths, pupils born in September and October were also the highest achieving, whilst pupils born in July and August were the lowest achieving. 

Attainment by school characteristics

There were 15,368 state-funded mainstream primary schools with key stage 2 results in 2024. 

Since 2016, there have been substantial changes to the makeup of school types in England. The proportion of LA maintained schools decreased from 82% in 2016 to 57% in 2024. There have been corresponding increases in the proportion of sponsored and converter academies to 11% and 30% respectively in 2024. It should be noted that the conversion of schools from one type to another means that the headline figures capture not only change in performance but also change in school type. While the number of free schools has increased to 214, free schools make up a very small proportion of schools, therefore progress and attainment scores may fluctuate more each year compared to other school types.

See the accompanying methodology for details about different types of school. 

Attainment in academies and free schools as a group in 2024 is broadly similar to those in local authority maintained mainstream schools. Converter academies had broadly similar proportions of pupils achieving the expected standard compared to the averages for all state-funded mainstream schools, this was also seen in 2023. Sponsored academies as a group, however, are below the average for state-funded mainstream schools but were typically low performing before their conversion to academy status.

Regional and local authority attainment

Attainment by region

Attainment at the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined) increased or remains the same in every region from 2023 to 2024.

London was the highest performing region in 2024, as in previous years, with 67% of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined). In all other regions, attainment in reading, writing and maths (combined) at the expected standard ranged between 58% and 61%. 

The gap between the highest (London) and lowest (South West) performing regions in 2024 was 10 percentage points, unchanged since 2023.

Attainment at the  higher standard in reading, writing and maths (combined) was also higher in London than in all other regions, with 12% of pupils in London achieving the higher standard compared to between 6% and 8% in all other regions.

Attainment by local authority

The map below shows the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined) by local authority. This map reveals a complex picture of attainment across England, with a range of high and low attainment in different regions.

Attainment at the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined) was highest in Richmond upon Thames (75%), Hammersmith and Fulham (74%) and Hackney (73%) and lowest in Portsmouth (51%) and Isle of Wight (51%). Similarly, attainment at  the higher standard (shown in the table below) was highest in Richmond upon Thames (17%) and Sutton (17%)  followed closely by Hammersmith and Fulham (16%) and Bromley (16%) and lowest in Portsmouth (2%). 

Local authorities with only 1 school are excluded from the above narrative.

About these statistics

This publication provides provisional attainment statistics for key stage 2 national curriculum assessments. It provides statistics on: 

Reading, writing and maths (combined) attainment

Pupils who meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined) are those who meet the expected standard in all three subjects. The expected standard in reading and maths is a scaled score of 100 or above. The expected standard in writing is a teacher assessment of 'working at the expected standard' (EXS) or 'working at greater depth' (GDS).

Pupils who reach the higher standard in reading, writing and maths (combined) are those who achieve a scaled score of 110 or more in reading and maths and are assessed as 'working at greater depth' (GDS) in writing TA.

Reading test attainment

Pupils who meet the expected standard in reading are those who achieve a scaled score of 100 or above. Pupils who meet the higher standard in reading are those who achieve a scaled score of 110 or more. 

Writing teacher assessment attainment

Pupils who meet the expected standard in writing are those who achieve a teacher assessment of 'working at the expected standard' (EXS) or 'working at greater depth' (GDS).

Pupils who reach the higher standard (referred to as greater depth) in writing are those who are assessed as 'working at greater depth' (GDS). 

Maths test attainment

Pupils who meet the expected standard in maths are those who achieve a scaled score of 100 or above. Pupils who meet the higher standard in maths are those who achieve a scaled score of 110 or more. 

Grammar, punctuation and spelling test attainment

Pupils who meet the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling are those who achieve a scaled score of 100 or above. Pupils who meet the higher standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling are those who achieve a scaled score of 110 or more. 

Science teacher assessment attainment

Pupils who meet the expected standard in science are those who achieve a teacher assessment of 'working at the expected standard' (EXS) or 'working at greater depth' (GDS).

Further information will be available

Revised figures will be published in the 'Key stage 2 attainment (revised)’ publication in December 2024.

1. Progress measures

Progress measures will not be published for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years as KS2 pupils in these years did not have KS1 assessments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. School level figures

School level data will be published on the Compare School and College Performance (opens in a new tab) website in December.

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• Key stage 2 attainment

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