Overview

This article explains KS5 residuals in Sisra Analytics' KS4 reports, including their calculation. Use this to troubleshoot or understand how residuals are calculated.

When residuals are calculated in KS5 reports, the average points used to calculate them are calculated separately using the respective qualifications for Level 3 qualifications and Level 2 Tech Certificates. This is because these qualifications are awarded using different grades, making them not directly comparable.

You can temporarily exclude specific qualifications from the residual calculations. For more information, see Sisra Analytics: How do I exclude specific qualifications from KS5 residual calculations?

Student Residuals

Student residuals can be used to compare a student’s performance in a particular qualification with how they’re performing on average across all of their qualifications. Follow these steps to determine the residuals for students:

• Separate Level 3 grades from Level 2 Tech Certificate grades. Residuals will be calculated separately for Level 3 and Level 2 Tech Certificates, as they employ different grading methods. For example, where a student takes three Level 3 qualifications and two Level 2 Tech Cert qualifications, they will be treated separately based on the points awarded.

  In the table below, Level 3 grades are used; however, the process for calculating residuals is the same for Level 2 Tech Certificates. 

  Qualification Name	Performance Cohort	Points	Entries
  Engineering	L3 Tech Level	70	2
  Spanish A2	A Level	40	1
  Science Biology A2	A Level	20	1

  Once separated, the grade points and the entries for the appropriate qualifications (Level 3 or Level 2 Tech Certificates) are totalled, and the Average Points Score is calculated using the formula:

  Average Points Score  = Total Grade Points ÷ Total Entries^*

  _{* Calculated separately for Level 3 qualifications and Level 2 Tech Certificate qualifications.}

  Qualification Name	Performance Cohort	Points	Entries
  Engineering	L3 Tech Level	70	2
  Spanish A2	A Level	40	1
  Science Biology A2	A Level	20	1
  Sum		130	4
  Average Points Score (Level 3)		130 ÷ 4 = 32.5

• Some Level 3 qualifications are worth more than 1 full A Level and therefore need to be standardised to be treated fairly against the A Level qualifications.

  Qualification Name	Performance Cohort	Points	Entries	Standardised Points (Points ÷ Entries)
  Engineering	L3 Tech Level	70	2	70 ÷ 2 = 35
  Spanish A2	A Level	40	1	40 ÷ 1 = 40
  Science Biology A2	A Level	20	1	20 ÷ 1 = 40

  The same applies to Level 2 Tech Certificates that will be standardised, to ensure all grades count as 1 entry towards residuals and are treated equally. For example, if a student took BTEC Engineering worth 70 points and 2 entries, the points will be divided by 2 and therefore equal to 35 when equivalent to one entry.

• Calculate residuals using the formula below for each qualification the student is taking:

  Student Residual  = Standardised Point Score - Average Point Score^*

  _{* For that specific qualification.}

  In the example below, a student has taken three Level 3 qualifications each with different Standardised Points (see Step 2). The Average Point Score (APS) is 32.5 (see Step 1). The student has a different Residual for each qualification: 

  Qualification Name	Standardised Points	Level 3 APS	Residual (Standardised Points - APS)
  Engineering	35	32.5	35 - 32.5 = 2.5
  Spanish A2	40		40 - 32.5 = 7.5
  Science Biology A2	20		20- 32.5 = -12.5

  The student’s residuals indicate how well they are performing in each of their Level 3 qualifications, compared to all L3 qualifications they take.

  In Key Stage 5, there are 10 points difference between the whole grades, so based on the above example, a residual of 2.5 in Engineering indicates that the student is performing approximately a quarter of a grade better in Engineering than they are performing across all L3 qualifications they take. Meanwhile, the student is performing approximately one and a quarter grades lower in Science Biology A2 than they are performing across all L3 qualifications they take.

Class Residuals

Class Residuals compare the performance of students in a class to how those same students are performing overall, across all of their Level 3 or Level 2 Tech Certificates. These are calculated by taking the sum of the individual student residuals and dividing this by the number of students in the class:

Class Residual  = Sum of Student Residuals in Class ÷ Number of students in Class

For example, there are 6 students in the Maths class (13A/Ma2):

Qualification Residuals

Qualification Residuals compare the performance of students in a qualification to how those same students are performing overall, across all of their Level 3 or Tech Certificate qualifications. These are calculated by taking the sum of the individual student residuals and dividing this by the number of students taking the qualification:

Qualification Residual  = Sum of Student Residuals in Qualification  ÷ Number of students in Class

For example, there are 19 students taking the Maths qualification (a subset shown):

Faculty Residuals

Faculty Residuals compare the performance of students in a faculty to how those same students are performing overall, across all of their Level 3 or Tech Certification qualifications. These are calculated by taking the sum of the individual student residuals and dividing this by the total number of student residuals in the faculty:

Qualification Residual  = Sum of Student Residuals in Faculty  ÷ Number of students in Faculty

For example, there are 22 Student Residuals for the qualifications included in the Humanities faculty. Humanities deliver Geography, History and RE qualifications (a subset shown):

To analyse data using Faculties, your administrator must set them up. For further information, see Sisra Analytics: How do I group qualifications by faculty in my reports? (Admin).

Related information

• Sisra Analytics: What are residuals?
• Sisra Analytics: How do I exclude specific qualifications from KS5 residual calculations?
• Sisra Analytics: How do I group qualifications by faculty in my reports? (Admin)

Updated 11 September 2025 09:55