Who gets left behind?
Education chapter 9. The gap between disadvantaged pupils and everyone else — how it is measured, and how little it has moved.
In 2024/25, disadvantaged pupils averaged 34.9 on Attainment 8 against 50.4 for everyone else — a difference of 15.5 points.
The gap index
3.92 is not 3.92 per cent of anything
The disadvantage gap index is a rank-based measure on a 0 to 10 scale, where a higher number means a wider gap. It is NOT a percentage, not a percentage-point difference, and not a difference in scores. An index of 3.92 does not mean 3.92 of anything — it is a position on a constructed scale, designed to be robust to the grading changes that make raw score gaps incomparable over time.
3.82
Disadvantage gap index
2025/26 (provisional). Higher means a wider gap
4.07
Fifteen years earlier
2010/11
3.66
Narrowest in the series
2016/17, excluding non-exam years
The disadvantage gap index was 3.82 in 2025/26 (provisional). In 2010/11, fifteen years earlier, it was 4.07.
Read the index as a position, not a quantity. It is built to be robust to the grading changes that make raw score gaps incomparable across years, which is exactly why it can be shown as a long series when the underlying scores cannot.
Source: DfE, Key stage 4 performance. Grey bars are years graded without examinations, and the latest year where DfE has marked it provisional.
View as table
| Period | Disadvantage gap index |
|---|---|
| 2010/11 | 4.07 |
| 2011/12 | 3.89 |
| 2012/13 | 3.80 |
| 2013/14 | 3.74 |
| 2014/15 | 3.79 |
| 2015/16 | 3.78 |
| 2016/17 | 3.66 |
| 2017/18 | 3.68 |
| 2018/19 | 3.70 |
| 2019/20 | 3.66 |
| 2020/21 | 3.79 |
| 2021/22 | 3.84 |
| 2022/23 | 3.94 |
| 2023/24 | 3.93 |
| 2024/25 | 3.92 |
| 2025/26 | 3.82 |
The finding is that nothing much happened
Across the exam years DfE has published as final, the index stays between 3.66 and 4.07, from 4.07 in 2010/11. It narrowed slowly through the 2010s, widened around the pandemic years, and the latest final year (2024/25, 3.92) is nearer where the series began than where it was lowest. Whatever has been tried over that period, the measure has not moved far. DfE's provisional 2025/26 figure is 3.82, a narrower gap than 2024/25; provisional data can be revised, and one year is not yet a trend.
The gap in scores
Comparing two groups within a single year avoids every problem that makes the attainment series hard to read across years: both groups sat the same exams under the same grading.
Attainment 8 measures achievement across eight qualifications. The maximum is 90.
- Disadvantaged (176,227 pupils)34.9
- Not known to be disadvantaged (449,420 pupils)50.4
These groups are not comparable populations
This is a gap between groups, not an effect of anything. Disadvantage as defined here is a proxy for household circumstances built from free-school-meal eligibility, and the eligibility rules themselves changed during the period. A change in the index can reflect a change in who counts as disadvantaged as well as a change in what they attain.
Source: DfE, Key stage 4 performance. State-funded schools, England.
View as table
| Group | Pupils | Average Attainment 8 by disadvantage, 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Disadvantaged | 176,227 | 34.9 |
| Not known to be disadvantaged | 449,420 | 50.4 |
Both measures, 2024/25 (final)
View as table
| Group | Pupils | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ English and maths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disadvantaged | 176,227 | 34.9 | 25.8% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged | 449,420 | 50.4 | 53.1% |
Newer, provisional: 2025/26
On DfE’s provisional 2025/26 figures (published 15 October 2026), 27.5% of disadvantaged pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths, against 54.3% of other pupils: a gap of 26.8 percentage points, down from 27.3 in 2024/25 and up from 25.2 in 2018/19. Provisional data can be revised.
View as table
| Group | Pupils | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ English and maths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disadvantaged | 188,730 | 35.6 | 27.5% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged | 443,830 | 50.7 | 54.3% |
| Gap, other pupils minus disadvantaged | 15.1 points | 26.8 points | |
| Same gap, 2024/25 (final) | 15.5 points | 27.3 points | |
| Same gap, 2018/19 (last pre-pandemic exam year) | 13.6 points | 25.2 points |
Provisional data: DfE may revise these figures when the final release is published. The disadvantaged group is defined by free-school-meal eligibility at any point in the past six years, care or adoption from care; the share of pupils in it rose between the two years, which DfE links to transitional protections during the Universal Credit rollout, so the groups are not identical across years. A smaller gap does not by itself mean disadvantaged pupils did better than before: it is a difference between two groups in one year. Disadvantaged pupils were 28.2% of the cohort in 2024/25 and 29.8% in 2025/26. Source: DfE, Key stage 4 performance 2025/26 (provisional), published 15 October 2026. The percentage-point gaps above are differences in rates; the gap index higher up this page is a rank-based measure and is not comparable with them.
What this does not show
Why the gap exists
The data records that two groups differ, defined by a proxy for household circumstances. It contains nothing about the mechanisms, and every plausible account — income, housing, health, school quality, prior attainment, and their interactions — is consistent with the same numbers.
Whether any policy narrowed it
The index is a national series with no comparison group and no policy variation to exploit. Attributing movement in it to any specific intervention would require a design this data does not support.
What happens to individual children
A group average conceals its distribution entirely. A stable gap is consistent with stable outcomes for everyone and with large movements in both directions cancelling out.
Whether the definition is stable
Free-school-meal eligibility rules changed during the period, including transitional protection during the move to universal credit. A change in who counts as disadvantaged moves the index without anything changing for any child.
A gap between groups is not an effect
This is a gap between groups, not an effect of anything. Disadvantage as defined here is a proxy for household circumstances built from free-school-meal eligibility, and the eligibility rules themselves changed during the period. A change in the index can reflect a change in who counts as disadvantaged as well as a change in what they attain.
Last verified 2026-10-24. Data: DfE, Key stage 4 performance — disadvantage gap index; Key stage 2 performance — pupil characteristics.
Related chapters
- In this sectionBritain vs EuropeThe gap between the four UK systems on one international assessment, alongside the gap inside England measured here.
- In this sectionAre children learning more?Why the attainment series itself is hard to read across years.
- In this sectionSpecial educational needsA different grouping, the same caution about comparing groups defined by need.
- In this sectionBehaviour and exclusionSuspension rates by free school meal eligibility.
- In this sectionFrom classroom to workWhether the disadvantage gap measured here persists into post-16 outcomes.
- Leaves this sectionInequalityHow educational disadvantage sits alongside income and wealth measures.
Scope and definitions
England, not the UK
Education is devolved. Every figure on this page is England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland operate different frameworks with different legal definitions, and their figures are not directly comparable.
Population
These figures cover schools and staff in England as recorded in the annual censuses: the school census for pupils and schools, and the school workforce census for staff. They count institutions and employees, not children with any particular characteristic, and they are not the 0–25 population used in the SEND chapter.
What “disadvantaged” means here
A pupil is disadvantaged if they were eligible for free school meals at any point in the previous six years, are looked after, or have been adopted from care. It is a proxy for household circumstances and not a measure of them, and eligibility rules have changed during the period covered.
The disadvantage gap index is a rank-based measure on a 0 to 10 scale, where a higher number means a wider gap. It is NOT a percentage, not a percentage-point difference, and not a difference in scores. An index of 3.92 does not mean 3.92 of anything — it is a position on a constructed scale, designed to be robust to the grading changes that make raw score gaps incomparable over time.