Accountability measures are complicated and this year we don’t even have progress measures to get our heads round. So let’s have a look at which pupils take the tests, who’s included in the measures, and how schools can get pupils discounted from results.
Who should participate in tests?
The Assessment and Reporting Arrangements (ARA) states that pupils should not take tests if any of the following apply:
- they have not completed the relevant KS2 programme of study
- they are working at the pre-key stage 2 standards or being assessed using the engagement model
- they are working at the standard of the KS2 tests but are unable to participate, even when using suitable access arrangements
- they are not in a fit physical or mental state at the time of the tests
The last three points are fairly self-explanatory – if a pupil is working below the standards of the key stage or is unable to access the test they should not be entered for them – but the first point is ambiguous and causes a lot of confusion. ‘Not completed the relevant KS2 programme of study’ is often taken to mean ‘has not completed all key stage 2 curriculum content’. This could result in schools thinking that a year 6 pupil who is, say, working within the year 4 curriculum should not sit the tests, but this is not the case. The ARA explains that ‘the tests are designed for pupils who have completed the KS2 programmes of study and are working at the overall standard of the tests. This means that if pupils are working above the pre-key stage standards, they should be entered for the tests.’ Again, the first sentence of that statement could easily be misinterpreted to mean that only those pupils that have completed all curriculum content should be entered for tests. The second sentence, however, makes it clear any pupil that is working above pre-key stage standards should participate and this includes our year 6 pupil working within the year 4 curriculum.
So what does that first bullet point mean? Pupils that ‘have not completed the relevant KS2 programme of study’ actually refers to those that have been held back a year, or perhaps started a year later than normal due to a late summer birthday. These are rare cases and pupils to whom this applies will be assigned an F code to indicate that they will take tests the following year when they reach the end of KS2.
Ultimately, ‘headteachers make the final decision about whether it is appropriate for a pupil to take the tests‘ but clearly the vast majority of pupils should participate, even if they are unlikely to achieve more than a few marks.
It is important to note that just because a pupil is not entered for key stage 2 tests, this does not mean they will be excluded from the accountability measures.
Who’s included in attainment measures?
There are two rules of attainment measures:
- Pretty much every pupil is included in attainment measures
- It’s almost impossible to get pupils removed from attainment measures
Essentially, pupils with a scaled score of 100 or more (or a teacher assessment of EXS or GDS in writing) will be counted as having met the expected standards. Almost everyone else will be counted as having not met the expected standard, and that includes those with the following codes:
Q – mark suppressed
H – paper annulled
U – Performing at the standard of the test but unable to access the test
J – Just arrived
Pupils marked as absent (A code) will generally be counted as having not met expected standards except in circumstances where they have gained enough marks on other test papers to reach the pass threshold. This could be the case in maths if they were absent for just one out of the three tests, but would not occur in reading where there is just one test paper.
The same applies in the case of missing (M code) test papers: if the pupil has achieved enough marks on the other papers to achieve expected standards, then they will be counted as such. Again, this could happen in maths where there is more than one paper, and it is possible to miss one result and still reach the threshold. Things differ from absence, however, when they have not reached the threshold on the other (non-missing) papers. In such cases, they will be excluded from the attainment measures.
As far as I’m aware, the only cases where pupils are automatically removed from a school’s results are those involving Z and F codes. The former signifies that the pupil was incorrectly or not registered for tests; the latter is used to indicate that the pupil will take the test in the future because they have not yet completed the relevant KS2 programme of study. Again, this is not because they are working below the standards of the test; it is because they are not in the expected year group for their age. It is feasible that many Z code cases arise where a pupil is out of year group and should have been assigned an F code.
Average scaled scores
Unlike the percentage attainment measures, only pupils with an actual scaled score are included in the average scaled score measures. This means that any pupil that doesn’t take the test will be omitted, including pupils assessed as pre-key stage. This is important because pre-key stage assessments are (in normal years) assigned a nominal (i.e. quasi) scaled score for the purposes of measuring progress, but these nominal scaled scores are not included in the average scaled score measure. Pupils whose results are incomplete due to lost scripts or absence are also not included in average scaled scores measure even if they are deemed to have met expected standards on the attempted papers.
Special consideration
This is a minefield but essentially schools can apply for special consideration to be applied to test results in certain circumstances (which makes for depressing reading), and this can change the pupil’s result.
Sort of.
Special consideration – if applied – can add an extra 3 scale points to the result, which may take it above the pass threshold, in which case it will be counted as having met the expected (or higher) standard. However – and here’s the kicker – this only affects the school’s overall accountability measure; it does not change the pupil’s result.
What?
Let’s say a pupil achieves a scaled of 98 and an application for special consideration is successful. This would raise the pupils result to 101, and they are counted as having met the expected standards in the school’s results. Sadly, it is the original score that must be reported to parents and that will be transferred to the secondary school.
Getting pupils removed from a school’s results
Initially, all pupils are likely to be included in a school’s percentages achieving expected and higher standards, but the autumn checking exercise provides an opportunity to apply for removal from measures in certain cases. There are four categories:
- Admitted from abroad with English not their first language
- Pupil not at the end of Key stage 2 in all subjects
- Left school roll before the tests
- Other
The first case is by far the most common, but criteria are strict and apply only if:
- they were admitted to an English school for the first time in the last 3 years; and
- they arrived from overseas prior to their admission; and
- English is not an official language of the country they came from; and
- English is not their first language
It is up to the school whether they want to exclude such children from their measures and, obviously, if they do well on tests and meet expected standards, it is unlikely they would seek to remove them.
The next point – pupils not at the end of KS2 in all subjects – is rather obscure, but tables checking guidance makes it clear that a request will not be accepted if ‘it is related to a pupil’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)‘. Such pupils will be included as having not achieved expected standards. This scenario, therefore, most likely applies to those that have been held back a year or have been disapplied from aspects of the national curriculum. As mentioned above, The former will receive an F code to indicate that they will take tests in future. The latter case would, historically, have received D code to show that they have been disapplied from the national curriculum but this code – which has caused so much confusion in previous years – was removed in 2021/22.
The next case – left the school roll before the tests – is not as straightforward as it seems. In most cases, if a pupil has left then the school would want them removed from the list. However, if a pupil changed school on or after the first day of the summer term, then the previous school can request that that pupil’s results are included in their measures rather than the new school’s. This scenario would likely arise if the pupil is a high achieving child. Otherwise, the new school will be accountable for the results and would need to apply to have them excluded via the checking exercise.
This leaves the ‘other’ option. This might include the recent arrival (i.e. On or after the first day of the summer term) scenario mentioned above, or some other seemingly valid case, but applications made under the ‘other’ category are rarely successful if we consider that pupils with SEND and those that are unable to access the tests for whatever reason cannot be discounted.
And finally…
There are no progress measures this year because (due to covid) pupils in the current year 6 do not have any key stage 1 results to act as baseline. KS1-2 progress measures will return next and will be calculated for current year 4 and 5 pupils. Then the reception baseline kicks in.
And that’s a whole new chapter in the crazy world of school accountability.
Useful sources
Primary School Accountability technical guide
Key Stage 2 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements
Special Consideration Guidance
Key Stage 2 attainment methodology (note: this is for national and LA figures. It does not necessarily match school level calculations detailed in primary accountability technical guidance)
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