What each measure tells you
| Measure | Meaning | Limit when choosing a school |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | Achievement across a specified set of qualifications, with prescribed weighting. | It reflects the cohort’s outcomes, including the attainment of pupils who entered the school. |
| Progress 8 | Progress compared with pupils nationally who had similar Key Stage 2 starting points. | It is a group measure with uncertainty, not a prediction for one child. |
Grammar school intake is academically selected, so high GCSE attainment should be read alongside that intake. A result does not isolate what the school itself caused.
Why Progress 8 is missing for 2025 and 2026
The Department for Education says Progress 8 cannot be produced for 2024/25 or 2025/26, because the relevant cohorts did not take the Key Stage 2 assessments needed as a baseline during pandemic disruption.
Older Progress 8 figures may still be displayed beside newer attainment data. Check the year attached to every column. Unavailable is not zero, and the absence of these cohort figures should not be treated as a weakness unique to a school.
How to read a published Progress 8 result
A positive figure means the cohort performed above the national comparison for pupils with similar prior attainment; a negative figure means below it. Read the confidence interval as well as the score.
Small differences between two schools are not a precise league-table verdict. A different cohort can produce a different result, and small groups can have wider uncertainty. Use the DfE methodology rather than treating a decimal-point lead as decisive.
Make a fair comparison
Compare the same measure, year and pupil group. Check whether figures are provisional or revised, then look at available trends. Add subject provision, GCSE English and maths outcomes, and sixth-form requirements where relevant.
For your child, also ask how the school supports pupils who need help, how subjects are chosen and what the daily journey involves. A slightly higher headline figure may not outweigh an unsuitable commute or missing subject opportunity.
Use school comparison and GCSE rankings as ways to inspect published evidence. Confirm the measure and year before using either to decide your CAF order.
A FEW MORE ANSWERS
Still wondering?
Does missing Progress 8 mean a school performed badly?
No. For the 2025 and 2026 GCSE cohorts, the required primary assessment baseline is missing nationally. An unavailable figure is not a zero score.
Is Attainment 8 the average of a child’s best eight GCSE grades?
It follows a specified subject structure and weighting, including double-weighted maths and, where conditions are met, English. It is not simply an unrestricted best-eight average.
Can we compare a 2024 Progress 8 score with 2025 Attainment 8?
You can read both as separately dated evidence, but they describe different measures and cohorts. Do not present them as two scores from the same examination year.
Official sources
Checked 28 Sept 2026