Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels: 2021/22

Chapter 2: Achievement of CfE Levels at Scotland level

Key Findings

• The percentage of primary school pupils achieving the expected CfE levels in 2021/22 was higher than in 2020/21, for all primary school stages and across all the organisers, with increases generally in the range of two to four percentage points.
• However, the percentage of primary school pupils achieving the expected CfE levels in 2021/22 was lower than in 2018/19 across almost all stages and organisers, typically by between less than one percentage point and three percentage points.
• For S3 pupils, comparisons cannot be made to 2020/21 as the data were not collected. Compared to 2018/19, the percentage of S3 pupils achieving Third Level or better in 2021/22 was lower by between one and two percentage points across all organisers.

2.1 Achievement of CfE Levels at Scotland level - primary stages

Compared to 2020/21, the percentages of primary school pupils achieving the expected CfE levels in 2021/22 have increased across all stages and organisers. These increases were generally in the range of two to four percentage points. They followed on from decreases of between around three and six percentage points between 2018/19 and 2020/21 associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The increases between 2020/21 and 2021/22 were generally larger than changes recorded at national level prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the proportions of primary school children achieving the expected CfE levels in 2021/22 remained lower than in 2018/19, across almost all school stages and organisers, suggesting that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continued to affect the learning of some primary school children in 2021/22.

Around seven in ten (71 per cent) primary school pupils (P1, P4 and P7 combined) achieved the expected CfE Level for literacy in 2021/22. This compares to 72 per cent in 2018/19, and 67 per cent in 2020/21.

In numeracy, over three-quarters (78 per cent) of primary school pupils (P1, P4 and P7 combined) achieved the expected CfE levels in 2021/22. This compares to 79 per cent in 2018/19, and 75 per cent in 2020/21.

As in previous years, in 2021/22 the proportion of pupils achieving the expected CfE level across all primary school stages (P1, P4 and P7) was highest in listening and talking, and lowest in writing. For listening and talking, 86 per cent of P1 pupils, 85 per cent of P4 pupils and 86 per cent of P7 pupils achieved the expected CfE level. Meanwhile for writing, 77 per cent of P1 pupils, 70 per cent of P4 pupils and 73 per cent of P7 pupils achieved the expected level.

2.2 Achievement of CfE Levels at Scotland level - S3 stage

Data for S3 pupils were not collected in 2020/21 (or in 2019/20). The percentage of S3 pupils achieving Third Level or better in 2021/22 was lower than in 2018/19 – the last time data were collected - by between around one and two percentage points across all organisers.

Almost nine out of ten S3 pupils achieved the Third Level or better in reading (88 per cent), writing (87 per cent), listening and talking (89 per cent), and numeracy (89 per cent) in 2021/22. This compares to 91% in reading and listening and talking, 90% in writing and 90% in numeracy in 2018/19.

In 2021/22, the percentage of S3 pupils achieving Fourth Level was lower than in 2018/19 across the literacy organisers (reading, writing and listening and talking) but slightly higher in numeracy. Compared to 2016/17 and 2017/18, the proportion of S3 pupils achieving Fourth Level was higher in 2021/22 across all organisers.

Table 1 shows the proportions of pupils achieving the expected CfE levels for all stages and organisers for 2016/17 to 2021/22. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's learning should be borne in mind if making comparisons over time (for more information see Section 9.1.4.3).