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How should we treat under-performing schools? A regression discontinuity analysis of school inspections in England

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca Allen

    (Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, UK.)

  • Simon Burgess

    (Centre for Market and Public Organisation, University of Bristol.)

  • Leigh McKenna

    (Centre for Market and Public Organisation, University of Bristol.)

Abstract

We analyse the initial impact of a major school admission reform in Brighton and Hove. The new system incorporated a lottery for oversubscribed places and new catchment areas. We examine the post-reform changes in school composition. We locate the major winners and losers in terms of the quality of school attended. We match similar cities and conduct a difference-in-difference analysis of the policy change. We see no significant change in student sorting: if anything, the point estimates suggest a rise in socio-economic segregation. We do see a significant weakening of the dependence of school attended on student’s prior attainment.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Allen & Simon Burgess & Leigh McKenna, 2010. "How should we treat under-performing schools? A regression discontinuity analysis of school inspections in England," DoQSS Working Papers 10-20, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    • Handle: RePEc:qss:dqsswp:1020
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    Cited by:

    1. David J. Deming & Sarah Cohodes & Jennifer Jennings & Christopher Jencks, 2016. "School Accountability, Postsecondary Attainment, and Earnings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(5), pages 848-862, December.
    2. David J. Deming & David Figlio, 2016. "Accountability in US Education: Applying Lessons from K-12 Experience to Higher Education," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 33-56, Summer.
    3. Hicks, Timothy, 2017. "Partisan Governance and Policy Implementation: The Politics of Academy Conversion Amongst English Schools," SocArXiv 8fhvq, Center for Open Science.
    4. Gwyn Bevan & Deborah Wilson, 2013. "Does ‘naming and shaming’ work for schools and hospitals? Lessons from natural experiments following devolution in England and Wales," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(4), pages 245-252, July.
    5. Iftikhar Hussain, 2015. "Subjective Performance Evaluation in the Public Sector: Evidence from School Inspections," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(1), pages 189-221.
    6. Gregory Elacqua & Mat’as Martinez & Humberto Santos & Daniela Urbina, 2012. "School closures in Chile: Access to quality alternatives in a school choice system," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 39(2 Year 20), pages 179-202, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    school lottery; segregation; school admissions reforms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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