Impact of Attainment Scotland Funding (ASF) on Numeracy and Mathematics 2022-25: Numeracy attainment data
This section provides detail about the National Improvement Framework (NIF) measures. In addition to referencing the NIF measures, this report will also explore how ASF has been used to positively impact numeracy and mathematics against the long-term outcomes from the SAC logic model.
The percentage of primary school pupils across Scotland (P1, P4 and P7 pupils combined) achieving the expected CfE numeracy levels in 2022/23 and 2023/24 was 80%. The proportion of primary school pupils achieving the expected levels has risen above that of 2018/19[1] by 1.2 percentage points (pp).
In 2023/24, attainment among pupils from the most deprived areas (quintile 1 - Q1) rose slightly from 71.86% in 2022/23 to 71.92%. However, the attainment gap between the most (Q1) and least deprived pupils (quintile 5 - Q5) widened from 16.96% to 17.4pp, continuing an increase since 2018/19, when the gap stood at 16.81pp.
Between 2022/23 and 2023/24, numeracy attainment among pupils from Q1 increased in 18 local authorities, while the attainment gap between pupils in Q1 and Q5 narrowed in 20 local authorities. Since 2018/19, 18 local authorities have seen an overall reduction in the numeracy attainment gap.
*This data does not include the 3 island authorities due to the low numbers of pupils living in Q1.
[1] 2018/19 data is used to provide a baseline for pre-Covid levels of attainment
Broad General Education (BGE)
The percentage of secondary school pupils (S3) achieving third level or better in numeracy increased from 89.55% in 2022/23 to 90.32% in 2023/24. The proportion of secondary school pupils in S3 achieving third level or better has increased slightly above that of 2018/19 (90.17%).
In 2023/24, the attainment of S3 pupils from Q1 achieving third level or better increased from 82.51% in 2022/23 to 84.12%. The gap between pupils from Q1 and Q5 decreased from 13.7pp in 2022/23 to 12pp in 2023/24. This gap has narrowed since 2018/19 when it was 13pp.
From 2022/23 to 2023/24, the proportion of S3 pupils from Q1 achieving third level or better increased in 18 local authorities. Over the same period, the attainment gap between pupils in Q1 and Q5 narrowed in 12 local authorities, and since 2018/19, this gap has decreased in 13 local authorities.
Senior Phase - leavers
In 2023, 54,719 pupils left school, increasing to 55,961 in 2024
The percentage of these pupils achieving level 4 numeracy decreased slightly from 2023 (90.89%) to 2024 (90.53%). The percentage achieving level 5 numeracy increased from 70.87% to 71.86% from 2023 to 2024.
In 2023, 12,151 pupils living in Q1 left school, rising to 12,491 in 2024
The percentage of pupils from Q1 achieving level 4 numeracy decreased slightly from 2023 (84.88%) to 2024 (84.18%). The percentage of pupils from Q1 achieving level 5 numeracy increased slightly from 2023 (56.69%) to 2024 (57.35%).
Between 2023 and 2024, the attainment gap in numeracy between pupils in Q1 and Q5 widened at both level 4 and level 5, rising from 10.98 to 12.24 pp at level 4, and from 28.92 to 29.82 pp at level 5.
In 2023, 1,012 pupils in the ‘all looked after’ category on Insight left school, rising slightly to 1,016 in 2024
The percentage of pupils in this category achieving level 4 in numeracy decreased from 71.25% in 2023 to 66.04% in 2024. Similarly, those achieving level 5 decreased from 32.81% to 32.48% over the same period.
