Earlier this year, a series of reports from Renaissance and the Education Policy Institute were published that looked at student outcomes in maths and reading using data from Renaissance Star Assessments.

This large-scale analysis, which was based on six million student assessments in Years 3 to 9 from 2017-23 and linked to the National Pupil Database and KS2 and GCSE data, has enabled researchers to gain unprecedented and statistically reliable insights into pupil performance in reading and maths pre and post pandemic. It and the other reports – on the outcomes of disadvantaged students and different student groups – can be found here.

This overview, however, looks at three of the main issues identified in those reports – and what some schools are doing to address them:

• The divergence in primary reading outcomes
• Lagging post-pandemic maths results
• The literacy challenges at transition

It also features the latest research and best practices, which show how students, especially disadvantaged students, who use Accelerated Reader will likely be much better prepared for Key Stage exams than those who do not. But first, a brief recap of the main findings.

As Star Assessment data is recorded every term from Year 3 through to Year 9, and as it’s on a consistent scale, student progress can be tracked from term to term and year to year – which isn’t possible with national curriculum data.

The data shows that, on average, students make faster progress in reading and maths when they are younger than when they are older in secondary school, and that progress tends to plateau at transition between Years 6 and 7.

The findings also reveal that while average reading outcomes in secondary schools have almost reached pre-pandemic levels and in primary schools have slightly surpassed them, results in maths at both primary and secondary schools have failed to recover.

In maths, learning loss as a result of the pandemic is estimated to be the equivalent of two months’ learning for students in primary schools and four months for those in secondaries.

Average attainment, however, only reveals so much. The differences within each year group are considerably greater than differences between them.

A deeper dive into the reading data, for instance, shows that while average outcomes are at or above pre-pandemic levels, the . The reading outcomes of those in the bottom deciles are still lagging the averages achieved pre-pandemic.

Disadvantaged students, particularly those who are classified as persistently disadvantaged (those who have been eligible for free school meals for at least 80 per cent of their time in school), have been badly affected. In primary maths, the gap in learning post-pandemic between the latter and their non-FSM peers is estimated to be 10 months. In primary reading it’s even higher – over 14 months.