Briefing No. 7 - Attainment and Assessment

Abstract

Pupils from independent schools were much more likely to report that their Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) were higher than they expected (43%) than those in state schools (34% for those in state grammars and 29% in state comprehensives). They were also much less likely to report that they were lower than they expected (at 7%, compared to 15% of those in state grammars and 23% in state comprehensives). A third of young people reported that they felt that teachers were biased against certain groups in their teacher assessment. This figure was higher among those from ethnic minority backgrounds and lower among those with more socio-economically advantaged backgrounds. Pupils who had particularly disrupted experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic received lower GCSE Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) than their peers whose disruption was more moderate. One-to-one or small group tutoring as catch-up provision was most likely to be offered to those from less advantaged backgrounds and those who had lower prior attainment. Boys were more likely to be offered tutoring but, as they were less likely to take it up, there was no gender difference in reported receipt of tutoring. Those who received one-to-one and small group tutoring appeared to perform slightly better in their GCSE TAGs than their peers who were offered this tutoring but did not take it up. However, only just over a quarter of the sample reported that they have received one-to-one or small group tutoring, meaning it is unlikely to have made a big difference to learning lost at the cohort level