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Attainment 8 Calculator
Attainment 8 is the Department for Education’s measure of GCSE results in England. Enter maths and English grades, then your other qualifications, and the calculator fills the four buckets the way the DfE does, gives your Attainment 8 score and average grade, and can estimate Progress 8 from your KS2 score.
The DfE rules (Secondary accountability measures, 2025 guidance): maths counts twice. English counts twice only if you sat both English language and English literature. The higher grade is doubled and the lower one can go in the open bucket. If you sat only one, it counts once. The EBacc bucket takes your three highest EBacc results: sciences, computer science, history, geography and languages. Combined science fills two slots at the averaged grade, so 6-5 counts as 5.5 twice. The open bucket takes the three highest of everything else, including spare EBacc subjects and approved technical awards. Grades 9–1 score 9–1 points, and the total ÷ 10 is your average grade.
Default example: the DfE’s own worked example (Pupil A) gives 66, an average grade of 6.6. The Progress 8 estimate compares your score with the DfE’s provisional 2025 national average for pupils with the same KS2 score: (A8 − average) ÷ 10. It is an estimate, because official Progress 8 depends on that year’s national results.
Result and step-by-step working
Average grade 6.6
| Bucket | What counts | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Maths (double) | Grade 7 × 2 | 14 |
| English (double if both sat) | both taken: higher grade (8) doubled | 16 |
| EBacc (3 slots) | Biology 7, AS French 7, Physics 6 | 20 |
| Open (3 slots) | English literature 6, Spanish 6, Art 4 | 16 |
| Total | 66 |
- Maths and EnglishMaths always counts twice. English counts twice only if you sat both English language and literature; the lower one can then go in the open bucket.
- EBacc bucketYour three highest EBacc results (sciences, computer science, history, geography, languages). Combined science fills two slots at the averaged grade, e.g. 6-5 = 5.5 each.
- Open bucket and totalThe three highest of everything left. Total 66 ÷ 10 = 6.6 average grade.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is my English not double-weighted?
- Because you did not sit both GCSE English language and English literature. Under DfE rules, a pupil with only one of the two gets it counted once in the English bucket.
- How does combined science count in Attainment 8?
- It can fill two slots in the EBacc or open bucket. The two grades are averaged, so a 6-5 gives 5.5 points in each slot (11 in total). Enter 5.5 as its points and pick “Combined science”.
- What is a good Attainment 8 score?
- The national average is usually in the mid-40s (an average grade of about 4.5–4.6). A score of 66 equals an average grade of 6.6.
- What points do vocational qualifications get?
- Approved technical awards have their own DfE point scales. For example, on the four-grade Level 2 scheme a Distinction* is 8.5 and a Pass is 4, and an AS level C is 7. Enter the points directly as “Other GCSE / approved”.
Last reviewed: October 9, 2026. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.