Poorer pupils in England are a whole GCSE grade behind their peers in maths, report finds
Research by Professors John Jerrim and Toby Greany at the UCL Institute of Education has revealed that 4 in 10 disadvantaged pupils are failing to reach the new GCSE standard pass mark of a grade 4 in maths.
The results showed that under the new numerical GCSE grades, the average maths result of pupils eligible for FSM in England is 3.8, just under the standard pass mark of 4.
The study converted the latest results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) into GCSE grades, allowing for a direct comparison of pupil performance between England and other nations.
Based on this analysis, England ranks 25th out of the 44 developed nations involved in the study.
England’s scores were around a third of a grade lower in maths than other western nations, such as Estonia, Canada, the Netherlands and Ireland, and half a grade lower than Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
The results also showed that there was a significant gap of a whole grade between the maths results they achieved and the grades of more affluent peers.
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that the “greatest barrier to improving outcomes for disadvantaged students is the struggle to recruit teachers.
“It cannot be a coincidence that maths outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are the most concerning finding in this report given that teacher shortages are very severe in this subject.
“The government missed its trainee teacher recruitment target for maths by more than 20% last year – the fifth year in a row that it has fallen short.”
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