Mainstream state schools show measurable declines in attainment between 2019 and 2020 across all years in reading, maths and GPS. This study from RS Assessment looks at the impact on performance of deprivation, location, subject and year group.
Pupils across England are two months behind in grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) and one month behind in both maths and reading on average. Disadvantaged children have fallen much further behind, according to data taken from core subject tests sat by 250,000 primary school pupils across Years 1 to 6 in England.
The data shows a concerning increase in the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils, who have fallen six months behind schedule on average. The average difference in standardised scores between pupils eligible for the pupil premium and their peers reached -6 in reading, -7 in maths, and -7 in GPS.
The furthest lag between these pupils and their classmates was in Year 6 maths, where they are on average 9 standardised score points behind – the equivalent to seven months of learning.
Schools in the Midlands saw the most significant declines in scores. Reading scores decreased most sharply in the Midlands, dropping 1.26 standardised score points. Maths scores in the Midlands also dropped by the largest amount nationwide, with results dropping by an average of 2.42 points. Year 5 pupils in the Midlands were most impacted, experiencing the largest national decrease in maths scores, a 3.74 point drop compared with last year.