Progress 8: which qualifications count?

Read guidance on the different elements that make up progress 8, including which qualifications are eligible for inclusion. Understand how discounting will affect multiple qualifications taken in the same subject.

Last reviewed on 3 November 2022
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School types: All · School phases: Secondary
Ref: 10131
Contents
  1. Changes to how the EBacc will be calculated for 2021/22
  2. Pupils’ attainment is compared across 8 elements
  3. Qualifications for the 8 elements
  4. Discounting applies when pupils duplicate a subject qualification

Changes to how the EBacc will be calculated for 2021/22

The DfE will count entries from 2019/20 and 2020/21, but only include results from 2021/22.

However, the way the progress 8 measure is calculated, including which qualifications count and how, will remain the same.

This means that:

  • EBacc will be affected and will in turn have an effect on progress 8
  • The way your progress 8 measure is calculated won't be affected

Find out more on pages 15 and 16 of the secondary accountability measures.

Pupils’ attainment is compared across 8 elements

Progress 8 compares pupils’ progress at the end of Key Stage (KS) 4 against the progress of other pupils nationally who had similar attainment at KS2. It does this by tracking attainment across 8 subjects (the attainment 8 score).

Read more about progress 8 scores in our other article, and the DfE's guide to secondary accountability measures.

Double-weighted

Read next

Also in "Performance tables and measures: secondary"