Power Maths assessment: updates on ‘all schools average’ data for Autumn term 2021
As we come up to half term, will you be assessing children using the half-termly Power Maths Progress Tests? Don’t forget that you can enter scores into the online Markbook to track and analyse results against age-related expectations.
(Just click the Markbook tile when you log into Power Maths. There’s a walkthrough video here.)
In the Markbook you can compare your results with other schools by looking at the ‘All school average’ (as shown below). And of course, by adding your data you can play your part in giving other schools the same opportunity to compare.
This blog pulls out the averages for the Autumn 1 & 2 tests, as well as the End of Year assessments (for which most of the averages aren’t yet appearing in the Markbook).
What are the average scores for the ‘Autumn 1’ tests?
The Autumn 1 tests (Arithmetic and Reasoning) assess work from the first half term in Power Maths. The tables below show the average scores currently in ActiveLearn.
The last row shows where that score sits on our 6-step scale, which links with age-related expectation. This 6-step scale (Below, Towards, Expected, Secure, Towards Greater Depth, Greater Depth) is applied to children’s results on the Overview tab of the Markbook.
Table 1A: All school averages for Autumn 1 tests (KS1) - October 2021
| Year 1 | Year 2 | |||
| Arithmetic / Reasoning | A | R | A | R |
| Total marks | 10 | 10 | 14 | 14 |
| Average score | 6.2 | 5.8 | 8.3 | 8.8 |
| Average score % | 62.2% | 57.6% | 59.1% | 63.0% |
| ARE scale | E/S | E/S | E | E/S |
Table 1B: All school averages for Autumn 1 tests (KS2) - October 2021
| Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | |||||
| Arithmetic / Reasoning | A | R | A | R | A | R | A | R |
| Total marks | 18 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 30 | 30 |
| Average score | 10.8 | 8.3 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 13.7 | 16.2 | 15.6 |
| Average score % | 60.2% | 46.4% | 65.5% | 68.3% | 61.1% | 52.9% | 54.0% | 52.1% |
| ARE scale | E | E | E/S | E | E | E | E | E |
What about the average scores for ‘Autumn 2’?
Thinking ahead towards the end of the Autumn term, here are the average results for the Autumn 2 tests, which cover the second half of Term A in the Power Maths progression.
Table 2A: All school averages for Autumn 2 tests (KS1) - October 2021
| Year 1 | Year 2 | |||
| Arithmetic / Reasoning | A | R | A | R |
| Total marks | 10 | 10 | 14 | 14 |
| Average scores | 7.3 | 5.5 | 7.7 | 6.3 |
| Average scores % | 72.9% | 54.5% | 54.9% | 45.2% |
| ARE scale | S | T/E | E | E |
Table 2b: All school averages for Autumn 2 tests (KS2) - October 2021
| Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | |||||
| Arithmetic / Reasoning | A | R | A | R | A | R | A | R |
| Total marks | 18 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 30 | 30 |
| Average score | 10.8 | 11.6 | 12.6 | 12.7 | 14.6 | 11.7 | 15.1 | 13.4 |
| Average score % | 59.8% | 64.3% | 57.3% | 57.7% | 56.1% | 45.1% | 50.4% | 44.6% |
| ARE scale | E | E/S | E | E | E | T/E | E | E |
Why do the percentage scores vary?
Tests inevitably vary in difficulty, so the boundaries of the 6-step scale are set appropriately for each test. These boundaries are shown in the mark scheme. Therefore, the ARE scale is a better comparator than the average percentage.
The ARE scales mostly show Expected level and Expected/Secure borderline. Results are noticeably better in Autumn 1 than Autumn 2. It is worth saying that a higher volume of scores were entered in 20/21 than in 19/20 (and none of the data is older than that). In other words, the pandemic is likely to be a factor. It may be that teaching for Autumn 2 was more disrupted or that gaps in prior learning were more significant – for instance, Shape and Measure work may have been deprioritised the previous year, understandably.
How were last year’s results affected by school closures?
In 19/20, school closures didn’t occur until the Spring term, so the Autumn tests would not be affected. In 20/21, as for the current academic year, you would expect the pandemic to have affected children’s starting points going into Term A.
Comparing results in 20/21 with the previous year, the fluctuations are relatively small, with scores very slightly lower on average. Generally, the Autumn 1 scores were at least as high, and it was the Autumn 2 tests where the average scores had dipped, especially due to the Reasoning tests. (Bear in mind the results may or may not have been entered at exactly the same time in the year or under the same conditions. No doubt circumstances surrounding assessment last December/January would have been extremely challenging.)
What about End of Year assessments?
You may be particularly interested in seeing averages for the End of Year tests, given that only one of these is currently showing in the Markbook. The reason for this is that the trigger point hasn’t quite been reached for the number of scores entered, owing to all the disruption over the last 18 months. The average scores shown below are all based on over 3000 children. The exception is Y6 where fewer results have been entered, perhaps connected with SATs not running.
Table 3: All school averages for End of Year tests (Y1-5) - October 2021
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | ||||||
| Arithmetic / Reasoning | A | R | A | R | A | R | A | R | A | R |
| Total marks | 25 | 35 | 25 | 35 | 40 | 35 | 40 | 35 | 40 | 35 |
| Average score | 14.3 | 18.0 | 14.2 | 19.7 | 18.5 | 16.9 | 22.5 | 19.1 | 22.8 | 14.4 |
| Average score % | 57% | 52% | 57% | 56% | 46% | 48% | 56% | 55% | 57% | 41% |
| ARE scale | E | E | E/S | E | T | E | E/S | E | E | E |
How can I see all school results for Spring/Summer?
There will be another blog in Spring to summarise Term B data. Hopefully, after all the disruption, much more data will be entered this year so that the Spring and Summer term averages appear in Active Learn as well.
I hope this round-up gives useful background for your assessments this term. Please keep entering your data so we can keep building up a picture that’s useful for everyone.