What Is Attainment 8?
The points-based measure of GCSE results across eight qualifying subjects.
The basics
Attainment 8 measures the overall GCSE achievement of pupils at a school. It is a points-based score calculated across the same eight subjects used for Progress 8. Unlike Progress 8, Attainment 8 does not adjust for prior attainment — it simply reports what results pupils achieved.
How points are allocated
Each GCSE grade is converted to a point score: grade 9 = 9 points, grade 8 = 8, and so on down to grade 1 = 1. English and maths are double-weighted, so a grade 7 in English counts as 14 points. The maximum possible Attainment 8 score is 90 (grade 9 in all eight subjects with double-weighting on English and maths).
School-level Attainment 8
The school's Attainment 8 score is the average of all its pupils' individual scores. It provides a snapshot of the school's GCSE outcomes but does not account for the intake. A school in an affluent area may score highly on Attainment 8 while adding less value than a school in a disadvantaged area that scores lower on Attainment 8 but higher on Progress 8.
Where MATpulse shows Attainment 8
Attainment 8 appears on the Performance tab of school profiles alongside Progress 8. On trust profiles, MATpulse averages Attainment 8 across member secondary schools. The Trust League Table does not currently show Attainment 8 separately but this may be added in future.