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Assessing the Variance in Pupil Attainment: How Important is the School Attended?

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  • Wilkinson, David
  • Bryson, Alex
  • Stokes, Lucy

Abstract

We explore the variation in pupil attainment at the end of secondary schooling in England. The paper links data on all schools and all pupils within these schools to analyse the role of the school in accounting for this variation. We analyse a number of different indicators of pupil attainment including value added between the end of primary and secondary schooling and attainment levels at the end of secondary schooling. We examine indicators that were the focus of the school accounting framework as well as other indicators that were not directly part of how schools were assessed. We show that schools account for a minority of the variance in pupil attainment, and the extent of the variation accounted for by the school is sensitive to the measure of pupil attainment used. In addition, we find that the majority of the explained school-level variance in attainment is related to school composition. However, most of the variance in attainment remains unexplained, raising questions about what other factors contribute to the variation in school performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilkinson, David & Bryson, Alex & Stokes, Lucy, 2018. "Assessing the Variance in Pupil Attainment: How Important is the School Attended?," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 243, pages 4-16, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:nierev:v:243:y:2018:i::p:r4-r16_10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Erling Barth & Alex Bryson & James C. Davis & Richard Freeman, 2016. "It's Where You Work: Increases in the Dispersion of Earnings across Establishments and Individuals in the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(S2), pages 67-97.
    2. Cheti Nicoletti & Birgitta Rabe, 2013. "Inequality in Pupils' Test Scores: How Much do Family, Sibling Type and Neighbourhood Matter?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(318), pages 197-218, April.
    3. Andrew Eyles & Stephen Machin, 2019. "The Introduction of Academy Schools to England's Education," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(4), pages 1107-1146.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alex Bryson & Lorenzo Corsini & Irene Martelli, 2022. "Teacher allocation and school performance in Italy," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 36(4), pages 409-423, December.
    2. Stokes, Lucy & Bryson, Alex & Wilkinson, David, 2019. "What Does Leadership Look like in Schools and Does It Matter for School Performance?," IZA Discussion Papers 12580, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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