This was to be the "defining mission" of the Scottish government during this last parliamentary term. ... The government has released its own report on the attainment gap, which says it is closing and that all parties in Scottish education are working together in a way they haven't before.

What is the current attainment gap?

The new report finds that:

Disadvantaged pupils in England are 18.1 months of learning behind their peers by the time they finish their GCSEs – the same gap as five years ago. The gap at primary school increased for the first time since 2007 – which may signal that the gap is set to widen in the future.

Is the attainment gap growing?

We found that overall levels of attainment increased in the decade to 2015. This increase was equivalent to an additional term of progress in primary school and just over half a grade at GCSE. But the report also highlighted the persistent gap that exists between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers.