Ofsted and Performance Data
Progress Scores 2023
Reading Writing Maths
What do progress scores mean?
The way we measure primary school performance at the end of key stage 2 (KS2) has changed. Instead of measuring progress for individual pupils, the new measures look at progress at a school level. Progress measures provide parents with information to help them understand how their school is performing and to inform school choices. In order to calculate the school level progress measures, pupils’ results (at KS2) are compared to the achievements of other pupils across the country who had a similar starting point (prior attainment).
Prior attainment is based on teacher assessment judgements at key stage 1 (KS1). Schools have progress measures published for 3 subjects: reading, writing and maths.
There are 2 main advantages to the new progress measures:
• they are fairer to schools because we can compare pupils with similar starting points to each other
• they recognise the progress schools make with all their pupils, highlighting the best schools whose pupils go furthest, whatever their starting point.
Most schools will have progress scores between −5 and +5. If a school has a progress score of 0 this means that on average their pupils achieved similar results at the end of KS2 (end of year 6) to pupils in other schools with similar results at the end of KS1 (end of year 2).
If a school has a positive progress score this means that on average their pupils made more progress than pupils in other schools with similar results at the end of KS1. For example: a score of +3 in reading would mean that on average pupils at the school got 3 scaled score points more in the KS2 English reading test, compared to other pupils nationally with similar results at the end of KS1.
A negative score doesn’t mean a school has failed or pupils have made no progress. It just means that on average their pupils have made less progress than pupils in other schools with similar results at the end of KS1.
Most schools will have progress scores between −5 and +5.
If a school has a progress score of 0 this means that on average their pupils achieved similar results at the end of KS2 (end of year 6) to pupils in other schools with similar results at the end of KS1 (end of year 2).