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Indicators of progress: Definitions, data, baseline and trends information
Milestone 3 : Increasing the proportion of our children who attain the appropriate levels in reading, writing and maths by the end of Primary 2 and Primary 7
Indicators
This milestone is measured directly by 6 indicators. The source of the information is the National Survey of 5-14 Attainment Levels which is carried out by the Scottish Executive. The indicators for this milestone are based around the 5-14 levels of attainment as published in 5-14 Curriculum Guidelines: Structure and Balance of the Curriculum.
These guidelines state that Level A should be attainable in the course of P1-P3 by almost all (90%) pupils, and Level D should be attainable by some pupils in P5-P6 or even earlier, but certainly by most (75%) in P7.
For the purposes of this milestone the appropriate level for P2 is Level A and for P7 is Level D.
Availability of data
Information is available at a Scottish level and Local Authority level. For this milestone information is presented at the Scotland level and by gender. Information is not available disaggregated by ethnicity or disability. The gender analysis is based on just under 1,300 primary schools and is therefore considered to be a good estimate of the national picture.
It is clear from looking at the 5-14 results that testing to confirm teachers' judgements of the 5-14 level of attainment reached by P2 pupils is not being carried out uniformly across schools in Scotland. Therefore, information on P3 attainment at Level A is also included in order to obtain a more complete and accurate picture of 5-14 attainment at this Level.
An analysis of rural and urban schools is also presented for the academic year ending June 2001.
As part of a major project called the 'Scottish Exchange of Educational Data (ScotXED)', the Scottish Executive are currently planning to replace many of its current statistical collections which give aggregated information at school with collections based on individual pupil level data. This first exchange of ScotXED pupil level data started in September 2002 with the annual School Census.
Current plans for this project are to start collecting 5-14 attainment levels on individual pupils in June 2003. The purpose of collecting pupil level data is that it will enable increased, and more flexible, analysis to be carried out on the data by linking this information with pupil characteristic information (e.g. ethnic background, gender, age, etc.)
Attainment by the end of P2 and P7
Chart 3a : Percentage of Pupils attaining or exceeding 5-14 Attainment Levels by the end of P2 and P3
Source : National 5-14 Attainment Levels : Scottish Executive
Note : Chart shows percentage of stage attaining at least Level A
Chart 3a shows the percentage of pupils in P2 who have attained at least Level A by the end of P2 for reading, writing and mathematics. It is clear that between 1998/99 and 2000/01, there has been an increase in the percentage of P2 pupils recorded as attaining at least Level A by the end of P2. It is also clear that there are significant differences between the level of attainment in mathematics and the levels for reading and writing.
In order to allow comparison with the 5-14 guidelines, the percentage attaining at least Level A by the end of P3 is also presented. Chart 3a shows that as in P2, attainment between 1998/99 and 2000/01 has risen across each subject. However, attainment of Level A or above in writing is still lower than in reading and mathematics.
Chart 3b : Percentage of Pupils attaining or exceeding 5-14 Level D by the end of P7
Source : National 5-14 Attainment Levels : Scottish Executive
Note : Chart shows percentage of stage attaining at least Level D
Looking at the P7 attainment, it is also clear that between 1998/99 and 2000/01 there has been an increase in the percentage of P7 pupils attaining at least level D in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of P7. However, the percentage attaining or exceeding Level D in writing is significantly lower than for reading and mathematics.
Broad Conclusion
The picture of attainment is that across the board there has been an increase in the recorded levels of attainment against the National 5-14 levels of attainment between 1998/99 and 2000/01. It is still the case that a higher proportion of pupils reach the appropriate 5-14 attainment level in mathematics with attainment in writing being the poorest, by the end of P2 and P3. However, by the end of P7 a higher percentage of pupils reach the appropriate 5-14 attainment level in reading than in mathematics.
By the end of P4, the percentage of pupils attaining or exceeding the appropriate level (Level B) has been increasing for reading, writing and mathematics between 1998/99 and 2000/01. In addition, the already small percentage of pupils not attaining Level A in these subjects has been steadily declining. Therefore, overall attainment in these subjects appears to be improving for this stage.
Table 3c : Percentage of pupils attaining 5-14 levels of attainment by the end of P2, P3 and P7
Subject | Stage / Year |
Level A or above | Level A or above | Level D or above |
P2 | P2 | P2 | P3 | P3 | P3 | P7 | P7 | P7 |
1998/99 | 1999/00 | 2000/01 | 1998/99 | 1999/00 | 2000/01 | 1998/99 | 1999/00 | 2000/01 |
Reading | 36.6 | 43.5 | 48.8 | 80.6 | 84.6 | 87.2 | 63.9 | 66.3 | 70.3 |
Writing | 16.9 | 25.4 | 33.3 | 70.2 | 78.6 | 82.8 | 47.3 | 52.6 | 56.3 |
Maths | 66.5 | 69.5 | 73.5 | 92.5 | 94.2 | 94.9 | 63.4 | 64.4 | 67.0 |
Source : National 5-14 Attainment Levels : Scottish Executive
Gender analysis
The data in Table 3d shows that a greater proportion of girls are attaining appropriate 5-14 attainment levels than boys. It is also broadly true that whilst attainment by boys has increased between 1998/99 and 2000/01, girls have increased at a similar rate. There is therefore no evidence that the gender gap is closing.
Table 3d: Percentage of pupils attaining 5-14 Attainment Levels by the end of P2, P3 and P7 split by gender
Subject | Gender | P2 | P3 | P7 |
Level A or above | Level A or above | Level D or above |
1998/99 | 1999/00 | 2000/01 | 1998/99 | 1999/00 | 2000/01 | 1998/99 | 1999/00 | 2000/01 |
Reading | Male | 32.7% | 40.5% | 45.8% | 78.2% | 83.1% | 85.6% | 60.2% | 62.4% | 66.9% |
Female | 41.2% | 48.4% | 54.0% | 84.7% | 88.6% | 90.7% | 69.5% | 72.5% | 76.3% |
Total | 36.6% | 43.5% | 48.8% | 80.6% | 84.6% | 87.2% | 63.9% | 66.3% | 70.3% |
Writing | Male | 13.7% | 22.2% | 28.5% | 65.6% | 75.1% | 79.9% | 39.6% | 45.3% | 48.7% |
Female | 18.8% | 28.7% | 37.2% | 74.2% | 83.6% | 87.4% | 54.9% | 61.2% | 65.3% |
Total | 17.0% | 25.4% | 33.3% | 70.2% | 78.6% | 82.8% | 47.3% | 52.6% | 56.3% |
Maths | Male | 63.8% | 68.7% | 72.7% | 91.8% | 94.2% | 95.0% | 61.9% | 63.0% | 66.0% |
Female | 68.7% | 73.1% | 76.6% | 92.5% | 95.0% | 95.9% | 66.6% | 67.6% | 70.6% |
Total | 66.5% | 69.5% | 73.5% | 92.5% | 94.2% | 94.9% | 63.4% | 64.4% | 67.0% |
Source: National 5-14 attainment levels: Scottish Executive
Notes: The figures for the primary sector exclude Gaelic Medium establishments. In addition, the gender analysis is based on a sample of around 1,280 publicly funded primary schools
Rural and urban analysis
The urban and rural analysis shown below is based on the Scottish Household Survey geographic classification. The 2001 Report presented that analysis in aggregate form, and so is not comparable to the analysis published in this Report, which is at a disaggregated level. The methodology applied uses the postcode of the school to classify pupils into the geographical categories. Refer to annex A for further detail on the urban rural classification.
The figures for the year ending June 2001 indicate that attainment by pupils does not vary significantly by urban and rural area. Generally, a higher proportion of pupils based in 'Accessible Rural' and 'Remote Rural' located schools obtain or exceed the appropriate 5-14 attainment levels by the end of P2, P3 and P7 in reading, writing and mathematics. However, it is important to note that any differences based on geography are small, and the differences based on geography are typically within 5-7%.
Table 3e : Percentage of pupils attaining or exceeding 5-14 Attainment Levels in publicly funded schools, by urban and rural areas
Source: National 5-14 attainment levels: Scottish Executive
Notes: The urban and rural classification is that developed for the Scottish Household Survey.
Background information
Table 3f: Percentage of pupils attaining or exceeding 5-14 Attainment Levels by the end of P2, P3 and P7 by urban and rural area.
Source: National 5-14 attainment levels: Scottish Executive
Notes: The urban and rural classification is that developed for the Scottish Household Survey.
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