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Guidance

Secondary accountability measures (including Progress 8 and Attainment 8)

Information for schools about secondary school accountability measures, including Progress 8 and Attainment 8.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Education
Published:
6 March 2014
Last updated:
20 October 2026
Show all updates

  1. Updated 'Secondary accountability measures: 2026 guidance for maintained secondary schools, academies and free schools' to reflect information on 2025 to 2026 KS4 school and college level performance data and the removal of English Baccalaureate (EBacc) performance measures.

  2. Added 'Secondary accountability measures: 2025 guidance for maintained secondary schools, academies and free schools'.

  3. Updated to include 2023 to 2024 revised KS4 data and to clarify where KS4 secondary accountability measures are published and the inclusion of AS grades in the English and maths measure.

  4. Updated 'Secondary accountability measures: 2024 guidance for maintained secondary schools, academies and free schools' with information about KS4 performance measures for 2023 to 2024. Entries into triple sciences (the percentage of pupils entered for biology, chemistry and physics) and entries into languages (the percentage of pupils entered for an EBacc language) will remain as additional measures. Also updated to include the 2023 to 2024 provisional KS4 data, including how the KS4 data will be used. We have added clarification on the use of P scale teacher assessments for 2017, 2018, and 2019 to the ‘Pupils working below the level of the test’ section.

  5. Updated 'Secondary accountability measures: 2023 guidance for maintained secondary schools, academies and free schools' to confirm the approach to KS4 school performance measures for 2025 and 2026.

  6. Updated secondary accountability measures guidance for 2023.

  7. Updated secondary accountability measures guidance for 2023.

  8. Updated 'Secondary accountability measures: 2022 guidance', to provide information about key stage 4 performance measures for 2023 to 2024 and plans for the headline EBacc attainment measure.

  9. Updated 'Secondary accountability measures: 2022 guidance' to include information about how 2022 to 2023 performance measures will be presented. The update clarifies how English GCSEs count in Progress 8/Attainment 8 and the EBacc measures. There is also an update to table 13 from provisional to revised figures.

  10. Added 'Table 37: Revised 2022 Average EBacc and open slots filled for each KS2 prior attainment group' to page 72 of the document.

  11. Updated 'Secondary accountability measures: 2022 guidance' to reflect revised data.

  12. In the guide on accountability measures, we have amended table 32 with provisional 2022 Attainment 8 averages. We have updated table 2 with an additional key stage 2 code. We have added the average EBacc and open slots filled by prior attainment group to table 33.

  13. Updated guidance for 2022.

  14. We have updated 'Secondary accountability measures: update for 2021 to 2022 performance measures'.

  15. Amended the EBacc average point score for GCSE history in table 1 of 'Secondary accountability measures: update for 2021 to 2022 performance measures'.

  16. Added an updated version of 'Secondary accountability measures: update for 2021 to 2022 performance measures'.

  17. Added guidance which explains how we will calculate secondary performance measures for the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

  18. Updated with more information about announced policies that apply to accountability measures in 2019 and 2020. Also updated 'Progress scores for key stage 4: school and college performance tables' to include 2019 figures.

  19. Updated secondary accountability measures guidance.

  20. Updated 'secondary accountability measures: guide' to show revised prior attainment group thresholds in table E:1.

  21. Updated 'secondary accountability measures: guide' with new data and information.

  22. Updated guidance with newly available data.

  23. Updated guidance with new definition of combined science qualifications. Example EBacc average point scores updated with 2018 data.

  24. Updated 'Secondary accountability measures: guide' and added 'Progress scores for key stage 4: school and college performance tables'.

  25. Updated the secondary accountability measures guide to include the 2017 coasting threshold.

  26. Updated 'Secondary accountability measures: guide' with new information on the EBacc accountability measures to be used from 2018. Also updated Attainment 8 estimates with provisional 2017 data.

  27. Updated Progress 8 measure in 2016, 2017 and 2018, Progress 8 key figures and school and pupil ready reckoner documents.

  28. Added new document: 'Progress 8 and Attainment 8: how measures are calculated'. Updated 'Progress 8 measure in 2016, 2017 and 2018' to include a definition of 'coasting' schools.

  29. Added Progress 8 and Attainment 8 key figures and ready reckoner documents.

  30. Added further detail on how to calculate fine levels in Annex C.

  31. Updated guidance to explain how secondary schools should interpret the 2016 key stage 2 results.

  32. Added video explaining Progress 8.

  33. Updated 'Progress 8 measure in 2016, 2017 and 2018', clarifying how the fine level calculation is completed and providing a link to 'Key stage 2 to key stage 4 value added measures'.

  34. Updated 'Progress 8 measure in 2016, 2017 and 2018' document, including clarification on how English counts in the headline performance table measures.

  35. Updated 'Progress 8 measure' document: clarified technical information and added detail, including about how to calculate prior attainment and how the Ofsted exemption will be implemented.

  36. Updated 'Progress 8 measure in 2016 and 2017' document. Further explained 2017 point scores in annex A, and revised the attainment 8 estimates table to 2 decimal places in annex B.

  37. Added 'Progress 8 measure in 2016 and 2017' document in place of superseded performance measure information and technical guide documents.

  38. Updated 'Progress 8 school performance measure' document to include information on mathematics and statistics qualifications.

  39. Added the terms and conditions document for schools wishing to opt into the progress 8 measure in 2015.

  40. First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Secondary accountability measures: 2026 guidance for maintained secondary schools, academies and free schools

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Details

This document:

  • explains how secondary accountability measures are calculated
  • gives more information about announced policies that apply to accountability measures for the 2025 to 2026 academic year

The information is for:

  • senior leaders working in secondary schools and trusts, including maintained schools, academies, alternative provision, free schools and special schools
  • independent schools or colleges with 14 to 16 provision seeking information on secondary accountability measures
  • governors and trustees
  • local authorities

It applies to:

  • local-authority-maintained schools
  • academies
  • free schools
  • further education colleges with 14 to 16 provision

Find out more from KS4 qualifications, discount codes and point scores for the school performance measures.

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