Apr 09

DfE Data Release Breakdown: Level 2 and 3 achievement by 19

Find out how Local Authorities (LAs) have performed for Level 2 and 3 by 19 indicators

Last week saw the DfE release statistics on the achievement of a full Level 2 and Level 3 by age 19:

  • A full Level 2 means five or more GCSEs at A*-C or 9-4 (or vocational equivalents) achieved at key stage 4 or key stage 5
  • A full Level 3 means two or more A levels of any grade, or equivalent Level 3 qualifications, normally achieved during key stage 5

These are key measures as the government believes that they are a good threshold for entry into the world of work. The inclusion of English and maths qualifications at Level 2 is a part of that; following the Wolf Review in 2011, the government stated that core literacy and numeracy skills are fundamental to young peoples’ employment prospects. Level 3 qualifications are generally needed to enter higher education and what are considered higher entry jobs.

In summary:

  • The proportion of students achieving level 2 and 3 decreased slightly nationally
  • London’s performance for both of these indicators is significantly above other regions though the pattern changes when looking at average points scores
  • The percentage of students achieving level 2 by 19 in English and maths who had failed to achieve it at 16 has increased, with Blackpool achieving the highest score for this indicator at 39.5%
  • Though results are more variable for the SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) cohort, the percentage achieving Level 2 by 19 has decreased slightly and the gap with non-SEND students has widened

Use the map below to find out how your LA performed relative to others in 2018

Key Data Headlines:

Level 2

  • The percentage of 19 year olds achieving Level 2 has also decreased slightly from last year, from 83.6%% to 82.2%. This may, in part, reflect the tougher style of BTECs from 2018
  • The East Midlands had the lowest average percentage of students achieving Level 2 by 19 at 68.2% (down from 71.0% in 2017)
  • The highest performing region is London with an average of 76.8% (down from 78.2% in 2017)
  • The biggest drop, however, was in Yorkshire and the Humber which went from 71.9% in 2017 to 68.4%
  •  In 2018, the top three performing LAs for the percentage of students achieving Level 2 by 19 were Rutland, Sutton and Harrow; only Sutton out of the three retaining this position from last year: in 2017, the top 3 LAs were Redbridge, Sutton and Kensington
  • The bottom three performing LAs for both 2017 and 2018 (though not in the same order) were Nottingham, Knowsley and Bradford

Level 2 including English and maths

  • However, the percentage of students achieving Level 2 in English and maths who hadn’t achieved it by age 16 has increased from 25.9% to 27.2%, a good sign. The cohort sizes for these two groups are broadly similar
  • Blackpool has the highest percentage of students who failed to achieve Level 2 at 16 in English and maths who then achieved it at 19 (39.5% in 2018)
  • The LA with the lowest score for this is North Lincolnshire with 17.4% for this indicator

Level 3

  • The proportion of state-funded learners achieving Level 3 by age 19 in 2018 was 57.2% which is a decrease of 0.4% points from 2017
  • London’s performance was significantly higher than the national average with 65.2% of students achieving this measure; the second highest region was the south-east with an average of 58.3%
  • However, what is interesting is that, despite this, London is only ranked 3rd in terms of average points score at key stage 5 for all Level 3 qualifications. This suggests that in London, schools and colleges are good at getting students to achieve any Level 3 (which is 2 Es or equivalent), but not necessarily the highest quality of grades compared to other regions. More work is needed to fully unpick this however
  • Bury had the biggest drop in the percentage achieving Level 3 from last year; it dropped by 5.0% points to 59.6%, though this is still in the top half performing LAs
  • Brighton and Hove had the biggest increase, by 4.0% points to 58.2%

SEND specific analysis

  • Attainment of Level 3 by age 19 for those with SEND was 26.6% compared to 63.1% of those without SEN. This attainment gap of 36.5% points has narrowed very slightly, by 0.1% points, compared to 2017. Overall, the SEND attainment gap has remained similar to previous years, changing from 37.6% points in 2005 to 36.5% points in 2017
  • The percentage of SEND students achieving Level 3 by 19 generally decreased compared to last year. However, it decreased at a lower rate than the percentage of SEND students achieving the level 2 indicator
  • For those with SEND, the percentage achieving Level 2 by age 19 has decreased from 60.1% to 54.5%; it has decreased for both those with and without statements/EHCPs
  • The gap between SEND and non-SEND students achieving Level 2 by 19 has widened from 29.3% points to 33.0% points in 2017, with more non-SEND students achieving this threshold
  • Results for the SEND cohort were generally more variable across time than results for all students. The biggest drop was in Bournemouth where 45.1% of students with SEND achieved Level 2 by 19, 15.5% points less than last year. Many LAs had similar double-digit drops. This is possibly due to the nature of the cohort sizes which are smaller for SEND students

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About The Author

Sabiha joined Mime in 2018 having graduated from the London School of Economics in Philosophy and Economics. Her role covers a variety of projects including SEND data and communications, the main focus being to draw meaningful insights and clearly communicating them.