National Reference Test Results Digest 2023
24 August 2023
Since its introduction in 2017, NFER has been contracted by Ofqual to develop, deliver and analyse the results of the National Reference Test (NRT) in English and maths.
The NRT is administered annually and shows if student performance in English and maths at GCSE level has changed from year-to-year. This year, more than 13,000 Year 11 students from over 300 schools took part in the NRT. The 2023 NRT testing took place in the spring term, between 20 February and 7 March.
The NRT results are based on analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of secondary schools. This Results Digest provides summarised information of the key performance outcomes for 2023 and comparison with the performance in 2017 at each of the three grade boundaries. Furthermore, it includes more details on the performance of students taking part and the representativeness of the school sample.