Percentage of children and adolescents achieving at least the expected proficiency level in English and Mathematics at ages 7, 11 and 16

Proxy
=
This indicator contains some alternative data to those specified by the United Nations (UN). This indicator is the most suitable match currently available.

Note that all data are for all state-funded schools in England only. For age 16 proficiency, ‘achieving grade 4 or above’ is used as it is the expected standard for students in that age group.

Sub-categories

Choose categories from the dropdowns below to see different breakdowns of the data. Some will not be available until a higher level is chosen.

Download source data (.csv)

Download source data for disaggregations (.csv)

No headline data available

This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from UK statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from UK statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other UK-specific metadata information.

Indicator available

Percentage of children and adolescents achieving at least the expected proficiency level in English and Mathematics at ages 7, 11 and 16
Indicator description

Not available for this indicator
Geographical coverage

England
Unit of measurement

Percentage (%)
Definitions

Not available for this indicator
Available disaggregations

Not available for this indicator
Calculations

No calculations were performed in the data acquisition of this indicator as appropriate data was readily available in the final format specified by this indicator. For insight into the details of potential calculations please refer to the original source metadata or source contact.
Other information

For ages 7 and 11, figures before 2015 to 2016 are not comparable to figures from 2015 to 2016 onwards due to a change in assesments.

National figures in the Key stage 1 and phonics screening check attainment and Key stage 2 attainment publications report figures for all schools in England. Therefore, some percentages at national level will differ with the state-funded schools in England reported here.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department for Education cancelled the 2019 to 2020 national curriculum assessments (Key Stage 1 & Key Stage 2) and associated data collections. Furthermore, the summer exams were cancelled in 2020. Pupils scheduled to sit GCSE and A/AS level exams in 2020 were awarded either a centre assessment grade or their calculated grade using a model developed by Ofqual. The new method of awarding grades has led to a set of pupil attainment statistics that are unlike previous years. As a result the 2019 to 2020 data should not be directly compared to attainment data from previous years for the purposes of measuring changes in student performance and, therefore, are not presented on this graph. For more information please visit DfE Key Stage 4 2019 to 2020

This indicator is being used as an approximation of the UN SDG Indicator. Where possible, we will work to identify or develop UK data to meet the global indicator specification. This indicator has been identified in collaboration with topic experts.
Data last updated 26 July 2023
Metadata last updated 27 July 2023

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator name

Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex
Target name

By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes
UN designated tier

Tier I
UN custodian agency

UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Link to UN metadata United Nations Sustainable Development Goals metadata for target 4.1 opens in a new window

Source 1

Organisation

Department for Education (DfE)
Periodicity

Annual
Earliest available data

2015 to 2016
Geographical coverage

England
Link to data source Explore education statistics - Create your own tables opens in a new window
Release date 06 October 2022
Next release

See source link: We plan to update indicator data within 4 months of data being released
Statistical classification

National Statistic
Contact details

primary.attainment@education.gov.uk
Other information

Select "Key stage 1 and phonics screening check attainment", "Key stage 1 attainment by pupil characteristics" OR "Key stage 1 attainment by region and local authority", time period from 2015/16 to 2021/22, "Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics TA" and "Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading TA", all options under pupil characteristics, and all options under gender. Then click Create table and download.

Attainment at age 7 (Key Stage 1) is based on teacher assessments. Judgements made since 2018 to 2019 are not directly comparable to those made in previous years due to changes made within the 2018 to 19 teacher assessment frameworks.

Source 2

Organisation

Department for Education (DfE)
Periodicity

Annual
Earliest available data

2018 to 2019
Geographical coverage

England
Link to data source Explore education statistics - Create your own tables opens in a new window
Release date 15 December 2022
Next release

See source link: We plan to update indicator data within 4 months of data being released
Statistical classification

National Statistic
Contact details

primary.attainment@education.gov.uk
Other information

Select "Key stage 2 attainment", "Key stage 2 attainment by region, local authority and pupil characteristics", all local authorities and regions, "time period from 2018/19 to 2021/22, "Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in maths" and "Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading", all options under characteristics, and all options under gender. Then click Create table and download.

Source 3

Organisation

Department for Education (DfE)
Periodicity

Annual
Earliest available data

2009 to 2010
Geographical coverage

England
Link to data source Explore education statistics - Create your own tables opens in a new window
Release date 20 October 2022
Next release

See source link: We plan to update indicator data within 4 months of data being released
Statistical classification

National Statistic
Contact details

Attainment.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk
Other information

Select "KS4 subject timeseries data", time period from 2009/10 to 2021/22, "The percentage of pupils achieving the designated grade", all three options under Gender, "94AstarC" under The grade achieved, and "English, "English Language", and "Mathematics" under The subject pupils are entered for. Then click Create table and download.

Prior to the 2018/19 academic year, data is for the 'English' subject. From the 2018/19 academic year data is for the subject 'English Language'.

Figures used are a percentage of pupils at the end of KS4, not a percentage of those attempting the subject.

Source 4

Organisation

Department for Education (DfE)
Periodicity

Annual
Earliest available data

2016
Geographical coverage

England
Link to data source Statistics - Key Stage 2 opens in a new window
Release date 13 December 2019
Next release

Not applicable: We plan to update indicator data within 4 months of data being released
Statistical classification

National Statistic
Contact details

primary.attainment@education.gov.uk
Other information

Since 2018 to 2019 this source has been replaced by Source 2.
Back to top