Key stage 2 attainment: National headlines, Academic year 2023/24 (2024)

This is the latest data

In 2024, 61% of pupils reached the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths, up from 60% in 2023. This is below 2019 attainment, where 65% of pupils met the standard. Attainment in all of reading, writing and maths is not directly comparable to some earlier years (2016 and 2017) because of changes to writing teacher assessment frameworks in 2018.

Data is not available for 2020 and 2021 as assessments were cancelled in these years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In reading, 74% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2024, up from 73% in 2023. This figure has fluctuated between 72% and 75% since 2017.

In writing teacher assessment, 72% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2024, up from 71% in 2023. Before the pandemic, in both 2018 and 2019, this figure was 78%. Attainment in writing is not directly comparable to some earlier years (2016 and 2017) because of changes to writing teacher assessment frameworks in 2018.

In maths, 73% of pupils reached the expected standard, unchanged since 2023. Before the pandemic, this figure increased from 70% to 79% between 2016 and 2019.

Attainment amongst reading, writing and maths was lowest in writing, as in 2023. Before the pandemic, with the exception of 2018 where it was the same as maths, attainment amongst these three subjects was lowest in reading.

In grammar, punctuation and spelling, 72% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2024. This remains unchanged since 2022, where it was the lowest figure since new assessments were introduced in 2016.

In science teacher assessment, 81% of pupils reached the expected standard in 2023, up from 80% in 2023. Before the pandemic in 2019, this figure was 83%. Attainment in science is not directly comparable to some earlier years (2016, 2017 and 2018) because of changes to science teacher assessment frameworks in 2019.

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We use scaled scores (opens in a new tab) to report the results of tests so we can make accurate comparisons of performance over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120. The total number of marks a pupil achieves in each test subject (raw score) is converted into a scaled score to ensure accurate comparisons can be made over time, even if the difficulty of the test itself varies.

The average scaled scores in reading, maths, and grammar, punctuation and spelling tests have remained the same as 2023.

In reading, the average scaled score is 105, unchanged since 2022.

In maths, the average scaled score is 104, unchanged since 2022.

In grammar, punctuation and spelling, the average scaled score is 105, unchanged since 2022.

The average scaled score is the mean scaled score of all pupils awarded a scaled score. It only includes pupils who took the test and achieved a scaled score. It gives us a measure of the typical performance of a pupil taking the tests. It is affected by the performance of pupils at all points in the range of scores. By contrast, the percentage of pupils achieving the expected standard focuses on the proportion of pupils above or below one particular score (100). As a consequence, changes in one measure may not be matched by changes in the other measure of the same size and direction.

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This publication provides headline statistics for attainment in key stage 2 national curriculum assessments for pupils in schools in England. It provides key figures at national level to help schools and parents put results in context.

1. The expected standard

Key stage 2 assessments tell us if pupils have met the expected standard in five subjects by the end of primary school:

• reading
• maths
• writing
• grammar, punctuation and spelling
• science

Tests are used to assess pupils in reading, maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling. Teacher assessment is used to assess pupils in writing and science. In addition to the individual subjects we report on pupils who meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined.

In the tests, pupils meet the expected standard if they achieve a scaled score of 100 or more. The test frameworks (opens in a new tab) provide performance descriptors for the typical characteristics of pupils working at the expected standard.

The teacher assessment frameworks (opens in a new tab) include ‘pupil can’ statements. For example, ‘the pupil can maintain legibility in joined handwriting when writing at speed’. To meet the expected standard, the teacher must judge there to be evidence that the pupil can meet all of the relevant statements.

DfE raised the expected standard in 2016 (opens in a new tab), following the introduction of a new, more challenging national curriculum in 2014.

Pupils not meeting the expected standard

It is incorrect to say that pupils who have not met the expected standard in reading cannot read, or that those who have not met the expected standard in writing cannot write, and so on.

There is a spectrum of attainment among pupils who do not meet the expected standard, with some coming close and others further away.

A pupil who achieves below the expected standard will still be able to read. For example, they may be able to retrieve simple information from a text but be unable to make developed inferences about what they have read.

We also classify pupils as not meeting the expected standard when it has not been possible to assess their ability, for example, because of absence. This is the case for less than 1% of pupils.

2. Technical information

National curriculum assessment figures published here are based on test and teacher assessment data provided to the Department by the Standards and Testing Agency on 6 July 2024.

This data contained all available marked key stage 2 tests and teacher assessments:

• Reading test: 99.9%
• Maths test: 99.9%
• Grammar, punctuation and spelling test: 99.9%
• Writing teacher assessment: 99.5%
• Science teacher assessment: 99.5%

See the methodology for further detail.

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Further provisional statistics will be published on 10 September 2024 in the 'Key stage 2 attainment (provisional)’ publication.

Revised figures will be published in the 'Key stage 2 attainment (revised)’ publication in December 2024.

1. National level figures broken down by pupil and school characteristics

National level data with pupil characteristics breakdowns, including data broken down by gender, ethnicity, month of birth, free school meal eligibility, special educational needs provision, disadvantage and the disadvantage gap index, will be published in the provisional publication on 10 September.

School characteristics breakdowns, including school type, phase, cohort size and religious character, will also be published on 10 September.

2. Regional, local authority and local authority district level figures

Regional, local authority and local authority district level data - including data broken down by gender - will be published in the provisional publication on 10 September.

Regional, local authority and local authority district level data with further pupil characteristics breakdowns will be published in the revised publication in December.

3. Progress measures

Progress measures will not be published for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years as KS2 pupils in these years did not have KS1 assessments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

4. School level figures

School level data will be published on the Find School and College Performance data website in December.

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