One in ten 11-year-olds is still leaving primary school without reaching the level expected of their age group in English and maths, Ofsted's annual report found.
And more than half of England's teenagers are still leaving school without five good GCSEs, including English and maths.
In her third annual report, Chief Inspector of Schools Christine Gilbert said England must do better if it is to compare favourably with the rest of the world.
She said she was concerned that there was still too much variation in achievement between different areas of the country. Poor quality services existed across the education and care sectors, for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Poorer children, such as those who qualify for free schools meals, were still less likely to achieve five good GCSEs, including English and maths, than their peers.
In 2007, only 21% of children on free school meals achieved this benchmark, compared with 49% of other pupils.
Ms Gilbert said there was a strong link across every sector between deprivation and poor quality services. But she added it was possible to "buck this trend" and there were examples of places that were outstanding.
The report covers the first full year of Ofsted's new wider remit - they now inspect and regulate social care, children's services, adult learning and skills, as well as schools and childcare.
It found improvements in school standards, with 15% of schools judged to be outstanding, up slightly from 14% last year. In primaries that figure was 13% while in secondaries it was 17%. But more than a third of schools (37%) were found to be not good enough - given a rating of "satisfactory" or "inadequate".Reuse content