Data from our sample shows regional differences in both Attainment 8 and in English and maths threshold measures. Attainment 8 scores appear to have fallen by a larger amount among schools in the North East (1.5 points) than average (1.0 points), largely driven by a dip in attainment in the open slots.
But we should be careful not to get too focused on differences at the regional level. Differences at the local level, and even within schools, can be much more significant than differences between regions.
The gender gap
Again, national figures on attainment by austria rcs data gender have been published, and we have written about the closing of the gender gap in top grades. But the results from our sample show that, while the gender gap in Attainment 8 scores has narrowed, the gap in achieving a strong pass in English and maths has widened slightly.
The proportion of female students achieving a strong pass in English and maths is up 0.3 percentage points since last year, while for male students it remains the same as last year.
Summing up
Analysis of the data from our sample of schools provides promising indications that the disadvantage gap may be shrinking, although we are cautious in drawing any conclusions about the gap considering the changes in how free school meals eligibility is defined. It also offers a more detailed look at how attainment varies by region and gender than the official figures yet provide.
We’ll be ready to crunch the numbers when the national figures are published in the autumn but, in the meantime, we hope that this post has given readers some food for thought.
Want to stay up-to-date with the latest research from FFT Education Datalab? Sign up to Datalab’s mailing list to get notifications about new blogposts, or to receive the team’s half-termly newsletter.