Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 1: 2019 Edition

Chapter 1: Introduction

This publication brings together a range of information on school leaver attainment and school leaver destinations, including analysis of destination by level of attainment.

School leaver destinations

• Based on the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Opportunities for All shared dataset.
• Used to inform 16+ Learning Choices, and other policy initiatives.

School leaver attainment

• Presented on an outcomes-based approach.
• Leavers classified by highest SCQF Level at which they achieved one pass or more for SQA courses at SCQF Levels 3 to 7 (see background note 7.2.1).
• Includes attainment at any stage throughout schooling.

Destinations linked to attainment

• Destinations data are matched to the pupil census and then SQA attainment data.
• The school and pupil information from this linkage has been used throughout the publication.
• This enables analysis of attainment and destinations by pupil characteristic.

This is the first 'Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations' report as the reporting schedule has changed in 2019 with a view to better meet user needs. For more information see chapter 6.