The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the knowledge and skills in mathematics, reading and science of 15-year-old pupils in countries around the world. PISA is run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and assessment is typically undertaken every 3 years, allowing us to chart how…

This study investigated the impact of school closures for COVID-19 on the attainment of pupils in Key Stage 1 in reading and math, and on the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children. It explored pupils' attainment compared with pre-pandemic samples, as well as any changes in attainment over the course of the…

"Contextual value added" (CVA) scores have been used as a means of monitoring school performance in England since 2007. This article explains how these scores are calculated using biographical pupil data (including ethnicity, gender and Free School Meal status) in order to judge the impact of a school on pupils' attainment. This article…

Students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are at a greatly increased risk of poor academic outcomes. Understanding the factors that influence their attainment is a crucial first step towards developing more effective provision. In the current study we present a multi-level, natural variation analysis which highlights…