Attainment at age 11
Published:
12 September 2023
see all updates
Data on the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths by the age of 11 years, by socio-economic background.
Summary main findings
In the 4 school years from September 2015 to July 2019, the percentage of pupils who met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths by 11 years old went up from 53% to 65%. It went down to 59% in the 2021 to 2022 school year.
In the 9 school years from September 2010 to July 2019, the gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and non-disadvantaged pupils (the ‘disadvantage gap’) went down. It then went up in the 2021 to 2022 school year to the highest level since 2012.
In the 2021 to 2022 school year:
- 43% of disadvantaged pupils and 66% of non-disadvantaged pupils met the expected standard
- 47% of disadvantaged girls and 39% of disadvantaged boys met the expected standard, compared with 70% of non-disadvantaged girls and 61% of non-disadvantaged boys
- there were large variations between pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) in different ethnic groups – for example, 76% of FSM-eligible pupils from the Chinese ethnic group met the expected standard, compared with 12% of Gypsy or Roma pupils
- disadvantaged pupils in London, the West Midlands, and Tees Valley and Durham were the most likely to meet the expected standard out of all regions – pupils in southern and eastern parts of England were the least likely to
By disadvantage status over time
Visualisation
Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at key stage 2, by disadvantage status over time (England, September 2015 to July 2022)
Click or tap on legend items to toggle visibility
Data
| School year | Disadvantaged (%) | Not known to be disadvantaged (%) | All pupils (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 43 | 66 | 59 |
| 2020/21 | No data | No data | No data |
| 2019/20 | No data | No data | No data |
| 2018/19 | 51 | 71 | 65 |
| 2017/18 | 51 | 70 | 64 |
| 2016/17 | 47 | 67 | 61 |
| 2015/16 | 39 | 60 | 53 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By year
Visualisation
Disadvantage attainment gap index over time (England, September 2010 to July 2022)
Data
| School year | Disadvantage attainment gap index |
|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 3.23 |
| 2020/21 | No data |
| 2019/20 | No data |
| 2018/19 | 2.91 |
| 2017/18 | 2.90 |
| 2016/17 | 3.00 |
| 2015/16 | 3.03 |
| 2014/15 | 3.10 |
| 2013/14 | 3.15 |
| 2012/13 | 3.16 |
| 2011/12 | 3.23 |
| 2010/11 | 3.34 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By area
Visualisation
Percentage of students meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths by the end of key stage 2, by region and eligibility for free school meals (FSM) (England, September 2012 to July 2022)
41 regions in the UK are ranked from the lowest to highest percentages. They are then divided into 5 equally-sized groups (‘quintiles’), from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).
The regional estimates have a large margin of error – do not rank or compare specific regions.
The lines either side of the dots represent confidence intervals – the range of values that the 'true' value for each region is highly likely to be within. In many cases the confidence intervals overlap. This suggests differences between specific regions may not be statistically significant.
See the composite indices for more precise estimates and to understand overall regional patterns.
Data
| Region | FSM eligible (%) | Not FSM eligible (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 37.4 | 62.5 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 36.0 | 64.6 |
| Cheshire | 40.0 | 66.5 |
| Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | 37.7 | 59.7 |
| Cumbria | 36.9 | 61.1 |
| Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire | 40.0 | 63.5 |
| Devon | 37.3 | 62.2 |
| Dorset and Somerset | 35.8 | 61.6 |
| East Anglia | 35.0 | 59.4 |
| East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 43.1 | 64.0 |
| Essex | 38.9 | 64.4 |
| Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bath/Bristol area | 36.3 | 63.7 |
| Greater Manchester | 42.4 | 64.9 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 36.3 | 63.0 |
| Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire | 38.3 | 64.5 |
| Inner London - East | 54.9 | 71.4 |
| Inner London - West | 57.8 | 76.0 |
| Kent | 39.1 | 64.8 |
| Lancashire | 39.7 | 62.9 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 40.6 | 64.2 |
| Lincolnshire | 37.5 | 60.9 |
| Merseyside | 39.4 | 63.6 |
| North Yorkshire | 34.9 | 63.5 |
| Northumberland and Tyne and Wear | 43.6 | 67.3 |
| Outer London - East and North East | 50.4 | 70.2 |
| Outer London - South | 46.8 | 71.3 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 48.3 | 71.1 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 40.4 | 63.2 |
| South Yorkshire | 38.4 | 63.8 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 36.4 | 63.9 |
| Tees Valley and Durham | 44.1 | 68.2 |
| West Midlands | 45.1 | 63.1 |
| West Yorkshire | 39.8 | 64.2 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By sex
Visualisation
Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at key stage 2, by disadvantage status and sex (England, school year 2021 to 2022)
Click or tap on legend items to toggle visibility
Data
| Disadvantage status | Boys (%) | Girls (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Disadvantaged | 39 | 47 |
| Not known to be disadvantaged | 61 | 70 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By ethnicity
Visualisation
Percentage of FSM-eligible pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at key stage 2, by ethnicity (England, school year 2021 to 2022)
Data
| Ethnicity | FSM eligible | Not FSM eligible |
|---|---|---|
| Asian - Bangladeshi | 63 | 69 |
| Asian - Chinese | 76 | 70 |
| Asian - Indian | 59 | 75 |
| Asian - Pakistani | 51 | 61 |
| Asian - Any other Asian | 53 | 72 |
| Black - Black African | 56 | 66 |
| Black - Black Caribbean | 41 | 56 |
| Black - Any other Black background | 48 | 62 |
| Mixed - White and Asian | 49 | 74 |
| Mixed - White and Black African | 50 | 68 |
| Mixed - White and Black Caribbean | 39 | 58 |
| Mixed - Any other Mixed background | 48 | 70 |
| White - White British | 38 | 64 |
| White - Irish | 34 | 71 |
| White - Gypsy/Roma | 12 | 18 |
| White - Traveller of Irish heritage | 15 | 20 |
| White - Any other White background | 44 | 64 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
About the data
Data source
Department for Education. National curriculum assessments at key stage 2 in England, 2022
Time period
September 2010 to July 2022
Geographic area
England
What the data measures
The data shows the percentage of pupils who met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of key stage 2, when pupils are usually 11 years old.
Disadvantaged pupils are those who:
- were registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years
- are looked after by a local authority in England and Wales, or who left local authority care through adoption,
- a special guardianship order, a residence order or a child arrangements order
The ‘disadvantage gap index’ summarises the relative attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils. It is based on their scores in reading and maths at the end of key stage 2. A disadvantage gap score of 0 means there was no difference in achievement. A score of +10 means that every non-disadvantaged pupil did better than every disadvantaged pupil.
Things you need to know
Data was not collected during the 2 school years ending in July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as an indicator of deprivation by the Department for Education. Children are eligible for FSM if their parents receive certain benefits.
Figures for the 2021 to 2022 school year are based on revised data. Figures for other years are based on final data.
Type of data
Administrative data
Full report
Read more in State of the Nation 2023 on GOV.UK.
Download the data
Download full dataset (CSV, 116KB)
This file contains the following variables:
- Indicator code
- Indicator name
- Area type
- Area code
- Area name
- Time period
- Socio-economic background
- Age
- Sex
- Category type
- Category
- Value
- Lower confidence interval
- Upper confidence interval
- Standard error
- Unit
- Value note
Page history
Publication release date:
12 September 2023