This section looks at the national attainment in the multiplication tables check in state-funded schools by pupils characteristics including gender, disadvantage, special educational need (SEN) provision, first language, ethnicity and month of birth. This section only includes pupils that are in state-funded schools and does not include those that are in alternative provision.
Further information on pupil characteristic breakdowns including including attainment by free school meal eligibility and SEN primary type of need is available via the “Explore data and files used in the release”.
Attainment by gender
A slightly larger proportion of girls completed the multiplication table check than boys (97% and 95% respectively). This is due to a larger proportion of boys being recorded as not taking the multiplication table check due to working below the level of the assessment.
In 2023, the average attainment score of pupils who took the multiplication table check increased from 19.6 to 19.9 for girls and from 20.0 to 20.4 for boys, compared to 2022. This is a increase of 0.3 and 0.4 points respectively. Pupils that did not complete the checks are not included in average attainment scores.
The most common score in the multiplication table check is 25 (full marks) for both girls and boys. The percentage of eligible pupils who achieved this score increased from 25% to 28% for girls and 28% to 31% for boys. This is a difference of 3 percentage points for both girls and boys between 2022 and 2023.
Proportions in the chart and table below are calculated out of all eligible pupils, including those who did not take the check, however the "did not take the check" category is not shown on the chart.
Attainment by disadvantage status
Disadvantaged pupils continue to perform less well in the multiplication tables check than other pupils, though attainment has increased for both disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils since 2022. The gap in average attainment between the groups has remained similar (0.1 decrease between 2022 and 2023, based on unrounded data).
A smaller proportion of disadvantaged pupils took the multiplication table check than pupils not known to be disadvantaged (93% and 97% respectively). This is mainly due to a larger proportion of disadvantaged pupils being recorded as not taking the multiplication table check due to working below the level of the assessment.
In 2023, the average attainment score of disadvantaged pupils who took the multiplication tables check increased 0.4 points compared to 2022 from 17.9 to 18.3 and increased a similar amount for all other pupils from 20.5 to 20.9. Pupils that did not complete the checks are not included in average attainment scores.
The most common score in the multiplication table check is 25 (full marks) for both disadvantaged pupils and pupils not known to be disadvantaged. The percentage of eligible pupils who achieved this score increased from 18% to 21% for disadvantaged pupils and 30% to 33% for pupils not known to be disadvantaged. This is a difference of 2 percentage points for disadvantaged pupils and 3 percentage points for pupils not known to be disadvantaged between 2022 and 2023 (when based on unrounded data).
Proportions in the chart and table below are calculated out of all eligible pupils, including those who did not take the check, however the "did not take the check" category is not shown on the chart.
Attainment by Special Educational Need (SEN) status
A larger proportion of pupils without SEN took the multiplication tables check than those with SEN.
99% of pupils without SEN took the multiplication tables check, compared to 94% of pupils on SEN support and 47% of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan. This is mainly due to a larger proportion of pupils with SEN, particularly those with Education, Health and Care plans, being recorded as not taking the multiplication tables check due to working below the level of the assessment. The large proportion of pupils not taking the check should be noted when considering attainment by SEN status. Pupils that did not complete the checks are not included in average attainment scores.
The average attainment score for pupils on SEN support increased by 0.5 points from 15.5 in 2022 to 16.0 in 2023. For pupils with Education, Health and Care plans there was also an increase in average attainment from 14.5 to 14.7 (0.2 points) from 2022 to 2023.
The most common score in the multiplication tables check is 25 (full marks) for both pupils on SEN support and EHC plans.
The percentage of eligible pupils who achieved 25 marks increased 2 percentage points for pupils with SEN support from 11% to 13%. For pupils with an Education and Health Care plan there was an increase of 1 percentage point from 6% to 7% compared to 2022.
Proportions in the chart and table below are calculated out of all eligible pupils, including those who did not take the check, however the "did not take the check" category is not shown on the chart.
Attainment by first language
Pupils with a first language of English performed less well in the multiplication tables check than pupils with a first language other than English. Attainment has increased for both English as first language and all other pupils since 2022.
A similar proportion of pupils with a first language of English and a first language other than English took the multiplication tables check (96%).
In 2023, the average score of pupils who took the multiplication tables check with a first language of English has increased 0.5 points from 19.4 to 19.9 and pupils with a first language other than English has increased 0.2 points from 21.2 to 21.4 compared to 2022. Pupils that did not complete the checks are not included in average attainment scores.
The most common score in the multiplication table check is 25 (full marks) for both pupils with first language of English and first languages other than English. The percentage of eligible pupils who achieved this score increased 3 percentage points from 24% to 27% for pupils with a first language of English and increased 2 percentage points from 36% to 38% for pupils with a first language other than English compared to 2022.
Proportions in the chart and table below are calculated out of all eligible pupils, including those who did not take the check, however the "did not take the check" category is not shown on the chart.
Attainment by month of birth
A slightly larger proportion of older pupils took the multiplication tables check compared to younger pupils (97% of September-born pupils took the multiplication tables check, compared to 96% of August-born pupils).
Pupils born later in the academic year (younger pupils) performed less well in the multiplication tables check compared to pupils earlier in the academic year.
In 2023, the average score of pupils who took the multiplication tables check has increased from 19.0 to 19.4 for August-born pupils and 20.6 to 20.9 for September-born pupils compared to 2022. This is a increase of 0.4 and 0.3 points respectively. Pupils that did not complete the checks are not included in average attainment scores.
The most common score in the multiplication table check is 25 (full marks) for pupils of all birth months. The percentage of eligible pupils who achieved this score increased from 23% to 25% for August-born pupils and from 31% to 34% for September-born pupils. These are both increases of 3 percentage points compared to 2022 (based on unrounded data).
The attainment for pupils across all birth months has increased between 2022 and 2023.
Attainment by ethnicity
A smaller proportion of Traveller of Irish heritage pupils (78%) and Gypsy/Roma pupils (84%) took the multiplication tables check than any other ethnic groups (96%). For other ethnic groups the percentage of eligible pupils that took the multiplication test ranges from 93% to 99%. This is due to a larger proportion of Traveller of Irish heritage and Gypsy/Roma pupils being recorded as not taking the multiplication tables check due to working below the level of the assessment and being absent.
In 2023, Chinese pupils remain the highest achieving group with an average score of 23.6, followed by Indian pupils with 22.8. Traveller of Irish heritage pupils remain the lowest achieving group with an average score of 14.2 followed by Gypsy / Roma (14.3). Pupils that did not complete the checks are not included in average attainment scores.
The most common score in the multiplication tables check is 25 (full marks) for all ethnic groups. Chinese pupils were the highest achieving group with 56% achieving 25 marks, followed by Indian pupils with 49%. Traveller of Irish heritage pupils were the lowest performing group with 8%, followed by Gypsy/Roma pupils with 9%.
The attainment for all major ethnic groups has increased between 2022 and 2023.