Academic year 2018/19

The link between absence and attainment at KS2 and KS4

Data guidance

Published 6 May 2022

Description

A summary of the link between absence and attainment at key stage 2 and key stage 4. 

This publication provides national level summary estimates from the school census, key stage 2 and key stage 4 data. 

Coverage

The data covers state-funded mainstreams schools in England only.

File formats and conventions

All files are .csv format.

Data files

All data files associated with this releases are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue.

Key stage 2 absence and attainment overall

• Filename: key_stage_2_ud_overall_absence_attainment.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018/19
• Content:

  This file contains the overall absence and attainment data at key stage 2.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
attainment_ks2_rwm	Attainment in reading, writing and maths at key stage 2
eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils
sess_overall	Number of overall absence sessions
sess_overall_percent	Overall absence rate
sess_possible	Number of sessions possible

Footnotes

1. Overall absence is calculated over all of KS2. This is equivalent to years 3, 4, 5 and 6 over academic years 2015/16 to 2018/19. Only pupils for whom valid absence data exists for all academic years have been included.
2. Includes those pupils who reached the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths. 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).
3. Attainment categories within this analysis are mutually exclusive, therefore pupils meeting the expected standard excludes those reaching the higher standard.
4. Includes those pupils who reached a higher standard in all of reading, writing and maths. A higher standard is a scaled score of 110 or more in reading and maths and pupils assessed as 'working at greater depth' (GDS) in writing TA.
5. Enrolment level absence information has been aggregated to pupil level using a unique pupil identifier, summing all absence and possible session data for each pupil regardless of which school the sessions were accrued at. See methodology.

Key stage 2 attainment by absence percentage point

• Filename: key_stage_2_ud_percentage_point_absence_attainment.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018/19
• Content:

  This file contains the overall absence percentage point bands and relates to attainment at key stage 2.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
number_reaching_the_expected_standard_in_rwm	Total number of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
number_reaching_the_higher_standard_in_rwm	Total number of pupils reaching the higher standard in reading, writing and maths
overall_absence_percent	Overall absence rate
overall_absence_percent_groups	Overall absence percentile groups
percentage_reaching_the_expected_standard_in_rwm	Percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
percentage_reaching_the_higher_standard_in_rwm	Percentage of pupils reaching the higher standard in reading, writing and maths
total_number_of_pupils_at_the_end_of_key_stage_2	Total number of eligible pupils at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and maths (combined)

Footnotes

1. Overall absence is calculated over all of KS2. This is equivalent to years 3, 4, 5 and 6 over academic years 2015/16 to 2018/19. Only pupils for whom valid absence data exists for all academic years have been included.
2. Includes data for pupils in state-funded mainstream schools.
3. Includes those pupils who reached the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths. 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).
4. Attainment categories within this analysis are mutually exclusive, therefore pupils meeting the expected standard excludes those reaching the higher standard.
5. Percentage point bands with less than 500 eligible pupils have not been included in the chart.
6. Includes those pupils who reached a higher standard in all of reading, writing and maths. A higher standard is a scaled score of 110 or more in reading and maths and pupils assessed as 'working at greater depth' (GDS) in writing TA.
7. Enrolment level absence information has been aggregated to pupil level using a unique pupil identifier, summing all absence and possible session data for each pupil regardless of which school the sessions were accrued at. See methodology.

Key stage 2 attainment by absence percentile rank

• Filename: key_stage_2_ud_percentile_rank_absence_attainment.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018/19
• Content:

  This file contains the overall absence split into equal pupil percentile bands and relates to attainment at key stage 2.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
number_reaching_the_expected_standard_in_rwm	Total number of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
number_reaching_the_higher_standard_in_rwm	Total number of pupils reaching the higher standard in reading, writing and maths
percentage_reaching_the_expected_standard_in_rwm	Percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
percentage_reaching_the_higher_standard_in_rwm	Percentage of pupils reaching the higher standard in reading, writing and maths
percentile_groups	Percentile groupings
percentiles	Percentiles
total_number_of_pupils_at_the_end_of_key_stage_2	Total number of eligible pupils at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and maths (combined)

Footnotes

1. Overall absence is calculated over all of KS2. This is equivalent to years 3, 4, 5 and 6 over academic years 2015/16 to 2018/19. Only pupils for whom valid absence data exists for all academic years have been included.
2. Includes data for pupils in state-funded mainstream schools.
3. Includes those pupils who reached the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths. 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).
4. Attainment categories within this analysis are mutually exclusive, therefore pupils meeting the expected standard excludes those reaching the higher standard.
5. Includes those pupils who reached a higher standard in all of reading, writing and maths. A higher standard is a scaled score of 110 or more in reading and maths and pupils assessed as 'working at greater depth' (GDS) in writing TA.
6. Enrolment level absence information has been aggregated to pupil level using a unique pupil identifier, summing all absence and possible session data for each pupil regardless of which school the sessions were accrued at. See methodology.

Key stage 4 absence and attainment overall

• Filename: key_stage_4_ud_absence_attainment_overall.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018/19
• Content:

  This file contains the overall absence and attainment data at key stage 4.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
attainment_ks4	Attainment at key stage 4
eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils
sess_overall	Number of overall absence sessions
sess_overall_percent	Overall absence rate
sess_possible	Number of sessions possible

Footnotes

1. Includes data for pupils in state-funded mainstream schools.
2. Attainment categories within this analysis are mutually exclusive. Among pupils achieving a grade 4 in English and maths GCSEs, some will have achieved a grade 5 or above in one subject. Among those not achieving grade 9-4, some will have achieved a grade 4 or above in one subject.
3. Overall absence is calculated over all of KS4. This is equivalent to years 10 and 11 over academic years 2017/18 to 2018/19. Only pupils for whom valid absence data exists for all academic years have been included.
4. Attainment categories within this analysis are mutually exclusive. Among pupils achieving a grade 4 in all components of the English Baccalaureate, some will have achieved a grade 5 or above in some components. Among those not achieving grade 9-4, some pupils will have achieved a grade 4 or above in some components.
5. Enrolment level absence information has been aggregated to pupil level using a unique pupil identifier, summing all absence and possible session data for each pupil regardless of which school the sessions were accrued at. See methodology.

Key stage 4 attainment by absence percentage point

• Filename: key_stage_4_ud_percentage_point_absence_attainment.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018/19
• Content:

  This file contains overall absence percentage point bands and relates to attainment at key stage 4.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
number_of_pupils_who_achieved_all_components_of_the_English_Baccalaureate_grades_9_to_5	Number of pupils who achieved all components of the English Baccalaureate grades 9 to 5
number_of_pupils_who_achieved_grades_9_to_4_in_English_and_maths	Number of pupils who achieved grade 9 to 4 in English and maths
number_of_pupils_who_achieved_grades_9_to_5_in_English_and_maths	Number of pupils who achieved grades 9 to 5 in English and maths
overall_absence_percent	Overall absence rate
overall_absence_percent_groups	Overall absence rate groupings
percentage_of_pupils_who_achieved_all_components_of_the_English_Baccalaureate_grades_9_to_5	Percentage of pupils who achieved all components of the English Baccalaureate grades 9 to 5
percentage_of_pupils_who_achieved_grades_9_to_4_in_English_and_maths	Percentage of pupils who achieved grades 9 to 4 in English and maths
percentage_of_pupils_who_achieved_grades_9_to_5_in_English_and_maths	Percentage of pupils who achieved grades 9 to 5 in English and maths
total_number_of_pupils_at_the_end_of_key_stage_4	Number eligible pupils

Footnotes

1. Includes data for pupils in state-funded mainstream schools.
2. Overall absence is calculated over all of KS4. This is equivalent to years 10 and 11 over academic years 2017/18 to 2018/19. Only pupils for whom valid absence data exists for all academic years have been included.
3. Enrolment level absence information has been aggregated to pupil level using a unique pupil identifier, summing all absence and possible session data for each pupil regardless of which school the sessions were accrued at. See methodology.

Key stage 4 attainment by absence percentile rank

• Filename: key_stage_4_ud_percentile_rank_absence_attainment.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018/19
• Content:

  This file contains the overall absence split into equal pupil percentile bands and relates to attainment at key stage 4.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
number_of_pupils_who_achieved_all_components_of_the_English_Baccalaureate_grades_9_to_5	Number of pupils who achieved all components of the English Baccalaureate grades 9 to 5
number_of_pupils_who_achieved_grades_9_to_4_in_English_and_maths	Number of pupils who achieved grade 9 to 4 in English and maths
number_of_pupils_who_achieved_grades_9_to_5_in_English_and_maths	Number of pupils who achieved grades 9 to 5 in English and maths
percentage_of_pupils_who_achieved_all_components_of_the_English_Baccalaureate_grades_9_to_5	Percentage of pupils who achieved all components of the English Baccalaureate grades 9 to 5
percentage_of_pupils_who_achieved_grades_9_to_4_in_English_and_maths	Percentage of pupils who achieved grades 9 to 4 in English and maths
percentage_of_pupils_who_achieved_grades_9_to_5_in_English_and_maths	Percentage of pupils who achieved grades 9 to 5 in English and maths
percentile_groups	Percentile groupings
percentiles	Percentiles
total_number_of_pupils_at_the_end_of_key_stage_4	Number eligible pupils

Footnotes

1. Includes data for pupils in state-funded mainstream schools.
2. Overall absence is calculated over all of KS4. This is equivalent to years 10 and 11 over academic years 2017/18 to 2018/19. Only pupils for whom valid absence data exists for all academic years have been included.
3. Enrolment level absence information has been aggregated to pupil level using a unique pupil identifier, summing all absence and possible session data for each pupil regardless of which school the sessions were accrued at. See methodology.