Following publication of key stage 2 results, Schools Minister Nick Gibb congratulates pupils on their hard work
Provisional Key Stage 2 test results show 74 per cent of pupils achieving level 4 or above in both English and maths.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb today congratulated thousands of pupils for their hard work as provisional Key Stage 2 test results were published, as well as teacher assessment scores, for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3.
Mr Gibb underlined the importance and value of proper externally marked tests and stressed the need for a greater focus and emphasis on the teaching of reading and mathematics in primary schools.
The results are available on the Department’s research and statistics website.
Key figures
Percentage of pupils achieving the expected level (level 4 or above)
| </p> | 2006</p> | 2007</p> | 2008</p> | 2009</p> | 2010</p> | Change since 2009</p> |
| English</p> | 79</p> | 80</p> | 81</p> | 80</p> | 81</p> | +1</p> |
| Reading</p> | 83</p> | 84</p> | 87</p> | 86</p> | 84</p> | -2</p> |
| Writing</p> | 67</p> | 67</p> | 68</p> | 68</p> | 71</p> | +3</p> |
| Mathematics</p> | 76</p> | 77</p> | 79</p> | 79</p> | 80</p> | +1</p> |
Percentage of pupils achieving higher than the expected level (level 5)
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Change since 2009 | |
| English | 32 | 34 | 30 | 29 | 33 | +4 |
| Reading | 47 | 48 | 49 | 47 | 51 | +4 |
| Writing | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | +1 |
| Mathematics | 33 | 32 | 31 | 35 | 35 | No change |
The three Rs:
- the percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in both English and mathematics was 74 per cent
- but the percentage of pupils achieving the expected level or above in the combination of reading, writing and mathematics was just 65 per cent for 2010.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:
Every year pupils and teachers work hard to prepare for the Key Stage 2 tests. Today I’d like to congratulate everyone who took the tests this year for their effort and achievements. I’d like to thank the parents, teachers and schools who helped prepare pupils so well.
Key Stage 2 tests are a vital staging post in a child’s education and can provide crucial information as children move from primary school into secondary education. Proper tests help us identify the great schools, often in disadvantaged areas, which get superb results for all children. We can all learn from the best practice these tests help identify.
Despite pupils’ and teachers’ hard work, one in five pupils are still not reaching the expected level in either English or maths and over a third are not achieving this level in reading, writing and maths combined. We need to ensure government gives teachers the support they need to get the basics right.
Getting the fundamentals right - being able to read and write and having a solid foundation in maths - is crucial to a child’s success in secondary education and throughout their adult life. This is why the Coalition Government is committed to promoting the use of systematic synthetic phonics in primary schools and to ensuring that pupils are fluent in arithmetic and basic maths by the time they move to secondary school. We will provide the help teachers need to do their job even better.
And we will support the most disadvantaged children by introducing a pupil premium which will provide extra funding for those schools with the most challenging intakes.
Mr Gibb added:
Externally validated tests give parents and professionals valuable information to gauge the standards of our primary schools and their pupils, and play a vital role in accountability.
We know the tests can be better, and we will be discussing with all parties how to improve the effectiveness, accuracy and rigour of the tests.
Related links
DfE Research and Statistics - National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 2 & 3 in England, 2009/10
Notes to editors
- The statistical first release (SFR) showing the Key Stage 2 provisional results are available on the Department’s research and statistics website.
- Changes to the administrative process of marking tests may happen from year to year and care should be taken when comparing results between years. Readers’ attention is drawn to guidance within the SFR on the impact of changes when comparing this year’s results with other years.
- Just over 4,000 schools - 26 per cent - did not administer the tests this year. In all about 420,000 pupils took the tests, and results were returned to schools on time on 6 July. As well as national results, statistics for Key Stage 2 tests are published for Government regions and local authorities. The Department’s head of profession for statistics has confirmed that today’s results are representative of the national picture and comparable to previous years. The results for 20 local authorities have not been published as it was considered the schools that took part were unrepresentative of the profile of schools in the area as a whole.
- Science was not included in the National Curriculum tests this year. Instead a 5 per cent sample of schools took science sampling tests to estimate national attainment in the subject. National results for this will be published on 10 August.
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