Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition

Section 5. School leaver attainment in All SCQF qualifications

The statistics in this section relate to the All SCQF attainment measure. Please refer to Section 1.3 above and Section 4 of the Methodology document for an explanation of how these differ to the figures in Section 4 above which are based on the National Qualifications attainment measure.

As described in Section 1.4, the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) led to changes in how many qualifciations were assessed and graded in the years 2020 to 2023. This should be kept in mind when comparing between years. A dashed line break in the series between 2018-19 and 2019-20 is shown to highlight where the changes in assessment happened.

Section 5.1 School leaver attainment under the All SCQF measure

In 2023-24, 2.0 per cent of school leavers left with their highest qualification at SCQF Level 3, 8.4 per cent with their highest qualification at SCQF Level 4 and 20.9 per cent with their highest qualification at SCQF Level 5.

Based on the All SCQF measure, 41.1 per cent of 2023-24 school leavers left with SCQF Level 6 as their highest qualification level. This is an increase compared to 2022-23 (40.2 per cent). It is however a decrease compared to 2018-19 (44.1 per cent).

In 2023-24, the proportion of leavers whose highest qualification was at SCQF Level 7 was 25.4 per cent, the same as in 2022-23. This is an increase compared to 2018-19 (22.1 per cent).

A small proportion (2.2 per cent) of school leavers attained no passes at SCQF Level 3 or better in 2023-24, under the All SCQF measure. This is a slight increase when compared to the proportions observed over the last few years.

As described in Section 2.1, 2023-24 saw a lower proportion of S6 school leavers and increased proportions of S4 and S5 leavers compared to recent years. Those leaving in earlier stages may be less likely to leave with qualifications at higher SCQF levels than those leaving in S6.

A full time series showing the highest SCQF level achieved by school leavers under the All SCQF measure since 2009-10 can be found in Supplementary Table 9.

Chart 11: The proportion of school leavers who attained their highest qualification at SCQF level 6 or 7 has increased since last year

Percentage of school leavers by highest SCQF Level achieved under the All SCQF measure, 2018-19 to 2023-24.

In 2023-24, 87.4 per cent of school leavers left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 5 or better. This proportion has decreased compared to 2022-23 (87.9 per cent) and 2018-19 (87.9 per cent).

The proportion of school leavers who left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 or better in 2023-24 was 66.5 per cent. This is an increase compared to both 2022-23 (65.6 per cent) and 2018-19 (66.2 per cent).

A time series from 2009-10 to 2023-24 is presented in Table 10 and 10a in the supplementary tables.

Table 5: Leaver attainment by SCQF Level and number of passes achieved under the All SCQF measure, percentage of leavers, 2023-24

 [low] = value less than 0.05 per cent but greater than zero. See the ‘Glossary and symbols used’ Section for a list of all symbols used in the tables.

Section 5.2 School leaver attainment under the All SCQF measure, by deprivation

This Section presents school leaver attainment based on the All SCQF measure broken down by deprivation levels as measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

The All SCQF measures are not currently amongst the 13 key National Improvement Framework measures (presented in Section 4.2) which are used to assess progress towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

As described in Section 1.4, there were changes in how many qualifications were assessed and graded in the years 2020 to 2023, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, care should be taken when making comparisons between 2023-24 and earlier years. Any increase or decrease should not be interpreted as indicating improving or worsening performance without further evidence.

At SCQF Level 4 or better, the gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived and least deprived areas attaining one pass or more based on the All SCQF measure was 6.4 percentage points in 2023-24. This has widened from 5.1 percentage points in 2022-23. The proportion attaining one pass or more at this level decreased for school leavers from the most deprived areas between 2022-23 and 2023-24 but remained the same for leavers from the least deprived areas. This has led to the gap between the two groups widening.

Longer term, the gap at SCQF Level 4 or better has narrowed over time, starting from 11.0 percentage points in 2009-10 and reaching its narrowest in 2022-23 (5.1 percentage points). In 2023-24 the gap is at its widest since 2018-19. A full time series for attainment at SCQF Level 4 or better, SCQF Level 5 or better and SCQF Level 6 or better since 2009-10 under the All SCQF measure is available in Table S1.2 of the supplementary tables.

At SCQF Level 5 or better, the attainment gap under the All SCQF measure was 18.1 percentage points in 2023-24. This is wider than in 2022-23 (16.6 percentage points). Between 2022-23 and 2023-24 the proportion attaining 1 pass or more at this level decreased for school leavers from the most deprived areas but increased for leavers from the least deprived areas. This has led to the gap between the two groups widening.

Longer term, the gap has narrowed most years, starting from 32.1 percentage points in 2009-10 and reaching its narrowest in 2020-21 (16.1 percentage points). In 2023-24 the gap at SCQF Level 5 is at its widest since 2019-20.

At SCQF Level 6 or better, the attainment gap under the All SCQF measure was 31.8 percentage points in 2023-24. This is slightly wider than in 2022-23 (31.5 percentage points). The proportion attaining one pass or more increased for school leavers from both the most and the least deprived areas between 2022-23 and 2023-24. But it increased by more for those from the least deprived areas, which has led to the gap between the two groups widening.

Longer term, the gap has narrowed most years, starting from 45.4 percentage points in 2009-10 and reaching its narrowest in 2020-21 (31.4 percentage points). The gap in 2023-24 is narrower than in all years other than 2020-21 and 2022-23.

Chart 12: The attainment gap has widened at SCQF Levels 4 to 6 compared to last year

Percentage of school leavers by attainment at SCQF Level 4 to 6 or better under the All SCQF measure, by SIMD quintile, 2018-19 to 2023-24

Section 5.3 School leaver attainment under the All SCQF measure, by pupil characteristic

Female pupils outperform male pupils at SCQF Levels 4 to 6 or better, with the gap being wider at higher SCQF levels.

Asian-Chinese pupils have high levels of attainment compared to other groups, with 90.4 per cent achieving one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 or better in 2023-24.

Pupils with a recorded Additional Support Need (ASN) are less likely to achieve SCQF Levels 4 to 6 or better than pupils without an ASN. Similarly, pupils who are declared or assessed disabled are less likely to achieve SCQF Levels 4 to 6 or better than pupils who are not. The number of pupils with a recorded ASN has increased markedly over recent years (see table 1.5 of the pupil census supplementary tables) These increases were likely due in part to continued improvements in recording and the introduction of the additional need types ‘Child Plans’ and ‘Other’ in 2011. This should be kept in mind when interpreting attainment data by Additional Support Needs.

In 2023-24 pupils living in Accessible Rural areas and Remote Rural areas are the most likely to achieve at SCQF Level 4 or better and SCQF level 5 or better. At SCQF level 6 or better pupils living in Accessible Rural and Large Urban areas have the highest levels of attainment. Pupils living in Remote Small Towns are the least likely to achieve at SCQF levels 4 to 6 or better.

Broad patterns in attainment by pupil characteristic are typically stable year on year, although small numbers in some characteristic groups mean fluctuations do occur. When comparing to 2022-23, a lower percentage of 2023-24 school leavers achieved one pass or more at SCQF Level 4 or better across almost all characteristic breakdowns. Conversely, a higher percentage of 2023-24 school leavers achieved one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 or better across almost all characteristic breakdowns when comparing to 2022-23.

A full time series for school leaver attainment under the All SCQF measure, by pupil characteristic since 2009-10 can be found in Supplementary Table 11.

Table 6: The attainment gap between leavers with different pupil characteristics increases as the SCQF Level increases

Percentage of school leavers attaining at SCQF Level 4 to 6 or better under the All SCQF measure, by pupil characteristic, 2023-24

Section 5.4 School leaver attainment under the All SCQF measure, by local authority

As outlined in the Methodology document Section 3.4, local authority results can be affected by the different presentation policies in operation in different local authorities. This means that in any year the attainment of school leavers from one local authority may be more heavily influenced by qualifications associated with a smaller number of SCQF credit points than in another. For example, where presentation policies in one local authority have led to a larger number of pupils taking qualifications associated with one or two SCQF credit points than in another, this could lead to higher attainment levels in that authority due to the shorter time requirements of such qualifications. There can also be variation within a single local authority over time, for example if presentation policies change.

Table 14 of the supplementary tables and Section 4.2 of the Methodology document shows the proportion of qualifications attained by school leavers at SCQF Level 6 and above that were associated with one or two SCQF credit points (10 or 20 notional learning hours) in 2018-19 to 2023-24. There is considerable variation between local authorities and also over time within individual local authorities. This should be kept in mind when interpreting results in this section.

More generally, if making comparisons between local authorities we recommend keeping in mind the context of the individual authorities. Factors such as levels of poverty or deprivation, the stage at which pupils leave school and the structure of the local economy (for example, the relative levels of post school opportunities in the employment sector or the continuing education sectors) may have an impact on the levels of attainment which pupils leave school with. This should be kept in mind when making comparisons.

If considering changes in attainment under the All SCQF measure over time, keep in mind that the numbers of award providers - and qualifications - included in the All SCQF measure has risen over time, and that the SCQF credit points of qualifications included have also changed over time (see Sections 3.2 and 3.3 of the Methodology document). There can also be variation in presentation policy within a single local authority over time, which may affect the attainment figures.

In 2023-24, for one pass or more at SCQF Level 4 or better, attainment across local authorities under the All SCQF measure ranged from 90.0 per cent to 99.3 per cent, a range of 9.3 percentage points. For one pass or more SCQF Level 5 or better, All SCQF attainment ranged from 81.3 per cent to 97.3 per cent, a range of 16.0 percentage points. For one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 or better, All SCQF attainment ranged from 54.3 per cent to 88.4 per cent, a range of 34.2 percentage points.

When compared to the equivalent data for the National Qualifications measure in Section 4.5 the difference in attainment between the National Qualifications measure and the All SCQF measure varies between local authorities. This is likely to largely reflect variation in presentation policies across local authorities with different courses and qualifications on offer.

A full time series for school leaver attainment under the All SCQF measure, by local authority since 2009-10 can be found in Supplementary Table 12.

Chart 13: The range in attainment between local authorities widens as the SCQF Level increases

Total school leaver attainment under the All SCQF measure, by local authority, 2023-24 (percentage of leavers)

Further data on attainment by local authority for years 2009-10 to 2023-24 are provided in Table S2.1 in the supplementary tables. The Supplementary Tables S2.2a and S2.2b also include a breakdown of attainment under the All SCQF measure in each local authority by deprivation.