§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the changes in pupils' attainment in the early years of secondary schools over the past two years. [159819]
§ Mr. MilibandThe Key Stage 3 (KS3) National Tests are the main measure of pupils' attainment in the early years of secondary education. The 2003 tests, recorded the best ever pupil attainment at KS3, with improvements in every subject and at every level. Over the past two years the percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 or above has increased by four percentage points to currently stand at 69 per cent. in English; increased by five percentage points to reach 71 per cent. in mathematics and increased by two percentage points to stand at 68 per cent. in science. The percentage of pupils achieving Level 6 or above over the same period has increased by three percentage points in English to reach 35 per cent., six percentage points in mathematics to reach 49 per cent., and six percentage points in science to reach 40 per cent..
These achievements endorse the positive impact on pupils' attainment of the Key Stage 3 National Strategy which we introduced to raise the attainment of all 11 to 14-year-olds. Our priority now is to build on these gains to achieve even higher standards this year by further embedding the strategy, maintaining a focus on tackling under performance, and supporting teachers to personalise teaching and learning to meet the needs of individual pupils.