What School Exam Results Actually Mean: KS2, Attainment 8, Progress 8 Explained

At the end of Year 6, children sit national tests in reading, maths, and grammar/punctuation/spelling. Writing is assessed by the teacher. The key measure is KS2 Combined (Expected Standard) — the percentage of pupils meeting the "expected standard" in reading, writing, and maths combined. National average is around 60%. A school above 65% is doing well. Above 75% is strong. Below 50% may indicate the school is struggling, but always consider context — schools with high deprivation or high SEN intake will naturally have lower raw scores.

Attainment 8 — An average score across 8 GCSE subjects (or equivalent). Ranges from 0 to 90. National average is around 46. Above 50 is above average. Above 55 is strong. Independent and grammar schools often score 60+. Progress 8 — How much progress pupils made between KS2 and GCSE, compared to similar pupils nationally. A score of 0 means average progress. Positive is above average, negative is below. This is arguably the most important measure because it accounts for the starting point. English and Maths Grade 5+ — The percentage achieving a "strong pass" in both. National average is around 45%. EBacc Entry — The percentage entering the English Baccalaureate (English, maths, science, a language, and history or geography). This tells you about curriculum breadth, not attainment.

A-Level APS (Average Point Score) — Points awarded for each grade (A*=60, A=48, B=36, C=24, D=12, E=0 for reformed A-levels). The average across all entries tells you the typical grade achieved. AAB or better — The percentage of students achieving at least AAB at A-level, including at least two "facilitating subjects" (those preferred by Russell Group universities).

For primary schools — KS2 Combined gives the clearest overall picture. For secondary schools — Progress 8 is the best indicator of school quality, because it measures what the school adds, not just the ability of its intake. A school with low Attainment 8 but positive Progress 8 is doing a good job with its pupils. For sixth forms — Look at both APS and destination data. Where do leavers end up? For any school — Look at trends over time, not just one year. PickMySchool shows historical data where available.

• Covid disruption (2020–2022) means results from those years are not directly comparable to earlier or later years. • Progress 8 cannot be calculated for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 cohorts because they did not sit KS2 SATs due to the pandemic. • Small school cohorts make percentages unreliable — a school with 30 Year 6 pupils will see much bigger swings than one with 120. • Independent schools often do not appear in DfE performance tables.

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