Contextual information about the National Reference Test
Analysis of National Reference Test results over the period 2017-2019.
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The National Reference Test (NRT) is taken every year by a nationally representative sample of Year 11 students to provide an additional source of information that can be used in GCSE English language and maths awarding. The NRT is supplied by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), which reports annually on the operation of the test and the test results.
To contextualise the annual test results, we collect data about participants’ motivation and preparation, and analyses the student characteristics of NRT participants, in particular, their Key Stage 2 prior attainment profile. After summer awarding, we also examine the relationship between NRT participants’ NRT performance and their subsequent attainment at GCSEs, to understand how well NRT results function as an indicator of anticipated GCSE performance. This report summarises results of the various relevant analyses for NRT 2017-2019.