The attainment gap has widened between the most and least advantaged school leavers across three key measures used by the Scottish government, according to .
To track progress in closing the attainment gap, the government looks at measures including the difference in pupils from the most and least deprived areas attaining one or more national qualifications at Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level 4 (equivalent to National 4); level 5 (equivalent to National 5) and level 6 (equivalent to Higher).
Data published today shows the attainment gap widened at all three levels for 2023-24 school leavers.
At SCQF level 4, the gap is now at its widest since 2011-12, according to the report, Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, 2025.
- At SCQF level 4, the attainment gap was 7.3 percentage points in 2023-24. This is wider than in 2022-23, when it was 5.9 percentage points and the widest the gap has been since 2011-12. At the starting point in 2009-10, the gap was 11.3 percentage points.
- At SCQF level 5, the attainment gap was 22.7 percentage points in 2023-24. This is wider than in 2022-23, when it was 20.2 percentage points and the widest the gap has been since 2013-14. At the starting point in 2009-10, the gap was 33.3 percentage points.
- At SCQF level 6, the attainment gap was 38.4 percentage points in 2023-24. This is wider than in 2022-23 when it was 36.9 percentage points and the widest the gap has been since 2015-16. At the starting point in 2009-10, the gap was 45.6 percentage points.
‘Damning figures’
Liberal Democrats education spokesperson Willie Rennie said the government had “flunked it” when it came to closing the attainment gap: poor behaviour, high absence rates and lack of support for ASN pupils while teachers were “languishing on supply lists” all had a role to play.
Mr Rennie said: “The SNP now have no chance of closing the poverty-related attainment gap next year as they promised a decade ago.”
Labour education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy said the “damning figures” showed the SNP was “taking our education system in the wrong direction”. She said a Labour government would properly support teachers; genuinely scrap the SQA; and build links between schools and the world of work.
The report also finds that, generally, the proportion of school leavers attaining one or more passes at SCQF level 5 or better has decreased in recent years.
In 2023-24, 83.5 per cent of school leavers left with one pass or more at SCQF level 5 or better, down from 84.8 per cent in 2022-23 and 85.1 per cent in 2018-19.
Dip due to the ‘make-up’ of that year’s leaver cohort?
The report says this dip in attainment could be attributed to “the make-up of the school leaver cohort in 2023-24”.
The 2023-24 cohort saw a lower proportion of S6 school leavers (57.1 per cent) and increased proportions of S4 and S5 leavers (14.4 per cent and 28.4 per cent respectively) compared to recent years.
The report states: “Those leaving in earlier stages may be less likely to leave with qualifications at higher SCQF levels than those leaving in S6.”
In 2015-16, 11.1 per cent of school leavers were in S4; 25.2 per cent were in S5; and 63.7 per cent were in S6.
Going by the “all SCQF qualifications” measure - which many school leaders prefer because it includes qualifications such as National Progression Awards, which are becoming increasingly popular - the report finds the proportion of school leavers with one pass or more at SCQF level 5 or better, down slightly on 2022-23 and also 2018-19. In 2023-24, 87.4 per cent of school leavers left with one pass or more at SCQF level 5 or better as compared to 87.9 per cent in both 2022-23 and 2018-19.
However, under the “all SCQF qualifications measure”, the proportion of school leavers who left with one pass or more at SCQF level 6 or better in 2023-24 was 66.5 per cent - up from both 2022-23 (65.6 per cent) and 2018-19 (66.2 per cent).
When S4 students began to make up a greater proportion of school leavers, Tes Scotland spoke to secondary headteachers about the phenomenon - they said it was not necessarily a bad thing so long as these students had something positive to go on to.
‘Very welcome’ positive destination figures
Today, it was the positive destination figures the Scottish government was keen to home in on. Education secretary Jenny Gilruth said it was “very welcome to see the vast majority of school leavers in Scotland continuing to enter a positive destination on leaving school, with the percentage of those in a positive destination after three months (95.7 per cent) being the second highest since records began”.
However, the positive destination gap widened between the students from the most and least deprived areas - in 2023-24 it was 4.3 percentage points, up from 3.7 percentage points in 2022-23.
Still, the report points out that, despite this, “this is the second narrowest gap since consistent records began in 2009-10”.
Ms Gilruth said that, although progress had been made closing the gap between the most and least advantaged pupils, there was “much more work still to do” - in particular “for the generation of children who experienced the pandemic”.
She added: “The Scottish government is committed to enhancing outcomes for young people. This includes delivering a fair and credible qualifications and assessment system as part of our wider work on educational reform.”
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