Understanding T Level performance data

Entrant cohort vs results population

The single most important distinction. Two different populations are counted:

That's why "students who received results" is smaller than "students who started". Never divide one by the other as if they were the same group — they're deliberately different measures.

The measures you'll see

• Retained & assessed — % of starters who stayed and sat both assessed parts.
• Pass or above (Pass+) — % of the results population achieving Pass, Merit, Distinction or Distinction* overall.
• Merit or above (Merit+) — the stricter version, Merit and above.
• Partial achievement — passed some but not all parts; a category in its own right, not a fail.

Provisional, revised, final

Each year of data carries a status. The newest year is provisional and will change as results are finalised — for instance, a recent year's Pass+ moved up by around two percentage points between its provisional and revised figures. Earlier years are revised then final. So year-on-year movements in the latest, provisional year should be read cautiously, not as headline trends.

Suppression and small numbers

DfE suppresses very small cells to protect confidentiality (shown as "c"), and marks not-applicable values as "z". Never infer or estimate a suppressed figure. And remember that on a small cohort — a specialism or provider with a handful of students — one or two results move the percentage sharply. Always read a rate alongside the number of students it's based on.

Why pathway comparisons need care

Pathways differ in cohort size, intake, assessment structure and maturity. A higher Pass+ on one pathway than another doesn't by itself mean one is "better" — it's exploratory data, not a league table. The same applies to providers.