The 2021/22 academic year saw the return of the summer exam
series in which pupils sat GCSEs and exams relating to other Key
Stage 4 qualifications for the first time since 2019. Pupils got
their results in August and on Thursday 20 October we
released some of the statistics
relating to these results.
The previous two years saw two different methods for awarding
GCSE and vocational grades without pupils sitting exams. In both
those years overall results were better than in previous years.
While exams returned this year, there was a degree of assistance
the pupils didn’t have prior to the pandemic, reflecting the
disruption they’d experienced to their education in the last two
years.
As part of the transition back to the summer exam series
adaptations were made to the exams (including advance
information) and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly
reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.
These changes mean comparisons between years aren’t quite
like-for-like.
What does the data you’ve published show?
- The EBacc entry rate has stayed
the same compared to 2020/21 at 38.7%,
however this is a decrease of 1.3 percentage points compared to
40.0% in 2018/19. The EBacc is short for ‘English Baccalaureate’
and it’s the suite of GCSE subjects we want as many pupils as
possible to study as they’re the subjects that will set them up
for future success in education and beyond. You can find out more
here.
-
The percentage achieving a grade 5 or above in English
and
maths is 49.6% (2.3
percentage points lower than 2021 but 6.4 ppts higher than in
2019).
-
The average Attainment 8
score is 48.7 (2.2
points lower than in 2021 and 2.0 points higher than in 2019).
Attainment 8 is a measure published annually showing the
average academic performance of a secondary school. It is
calculated by adding together pupils' highest scores across
eight subjects.
-
The EBacc Average Point Score (APS) is
4.27 (0.18 lower than in 2021 and 0.20 higher than in 2019).
-
The KS4 disadvantage gap index has widened to 3.84 in
2022. In 2021 and 2019 the gap was 3.79 and 3.70
respectively. The disadvantage gap index relates to the
difference in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their
peers.
What are you doing to narrow the attainment gap?
The attainment gap narrowed to its lowest level in 2017 but has
widened in recent years.
We know the pandemic has had an impact on children’s and young
people’s learning, which is why our ambitious recovery plan
continues to roll out across the country, with nearly £5 billion
invested in high quality tutoring, world class training for
teachers and early years practitioners and additional funding for
schools.
Schools should continue to work with parents to make them aware
of support on offer, including through the National Tutoring
Programme, which is supporting children from all backgrounds to
catch up on lost learning and has started over 2 million courses
so far.
