Older secondary pupils are more likely to misunderstand what they have learned in lessons than younger peers, new research shows.

In analysis of nearly 100 million pupil quiz responses, captured through online classroom Oak National academy during 2021, researchers found that comprehension declined with age.

Primary pupils performing better than secondary peers in post-lesson quizzes, while the youngest pupils in Key Stage 1 performed best of all, research from education website SchoolDash found.

Pupils’ performance in exit quizzes particularly declined in maths and science as pupils got older, whereas in some subjects, such as geography and RE, there was more consistency across age groups.

For example, 87% of Key Stage 1 pupils gave correct answers in a post-lesson maths quiz compared with 67% in Key Stage 4.

And 84% gave correct answers in science at Key Stage 1 compared with 69% in Key Stage 4.

At Key Stage 3, 65% gave correct answers for both science and maths.

It also found that pupils did better in their post-lesson “exit quizzes” than if they were tested on the previous lesson’s work at the start of the next lesson.

Across all ages, pupils studying Latin had the highest number of correct answers on average in exit quizzes, while PE had the lowest.

GCSE pupils were most likely to give correct answers on what they had just learned in English, and least likely to give correct answers on art and design.

The research also measured how well pupils remembered content they had answered correctly from a previous quiz at the start of the next lesson. Pupils of all ages tended to remember content from maths, whereas some subjects such as history fared less well.

SchoolDash founder Timo Hannay said: “I suspect that a lot of these [subjects] are not just what kids struggled with during lockdown or while they were doing online learning. This is what kids struggle with full stop.”

“With so many things that have happened with the pandemic, when we’re talking about educational disparities and trying to close gaps, it holds lessons for the new normal beyond the pandemic,” he said, adding that the data could help teachers focus their efforts on an “ongoing” basis and not just during education recovery.

Mr Hannay said that the lower scores for older pupils made sense given that the content they covered was more complex, but that this could be used by teachers to focus support.

Oak National principal Matt Hood said: “When it comes to GCSE revision, teachers know their pupils best and exam preparation will be largely guided by that knowledge.

“But we hope teachers find this analysis useful too. In particular they can use the interactive analysis to identify the individual topics where GCSE pupils on average tend to underperform when tested which could also help prioritise review and revision.

“Pupils coming up for GCSEs have endured significant disruption over the last two years. Ofqual and the exam boards are taking that into account this summer with advance information and more generous grading which hopefully provides some reassurance.”