Disadvantage gap widens at KS4, as fewer pupils entered for EBacc

Latest data from the Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that the disadvantage gap for Key Stage 4 pupils has widened. It shows that in 2021, when teacher assessed grades (TAGs) were used to award GCSE results, there was a wider attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers than in 2020. Centre-assessed grades (CAGs) were used to award results in 2020. According to the government’s own metric, the ‘disadvantage gap index’ the gap widened to 3.79 in 2021 from 3.66 in 2020. The gap had been 3.7 in 2019, the most recent year when exams were used to award grades.

The new data published by the DfE also shows that just 38.7 per cent of pupils nationally entered the full suite of subjects (english, maths, science, history/geography, a language) that make up the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). This was a decrease from 39.8 per cent in 2020, and 40 per cent in 2019. The pandemic has therefore seen the government going backwards on their targets for the EBacc - the DfE had originally aimed for 90 per cent of pupils to enter the EBacc by 2020, but this was subsequently delayed to 2025, with an interim target of 75 per cent by 2022. Both targets were set prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

There was better news for the government when looking at the proportion of pupils who entered at least four components of the EBacc – this rose from 87.3 per cent in 2020 to 87.7 per cent this year. Both figures were up on the 2019 percentage of 86.5. The TAGs used in 2021 saw higher GCSE grades across the board, and as a result both average Attainment 8 and EBacc APS scores increased. The average Attainment 8 score increased from 46.7 to 50.9 and the EBacc APS – which is a measure of pupils' point scores across the five elements of the EBacc - increased from 4.07 to 4.45.

The full data release is available here: https://tinyurl.com/4fc37cr6