Gender and Student Achievement in English Schools

The widening gap between the average educational achievement of boys and girls has been the subject of much discussion. This gap is especially controversial for students taking national exams at the end of their compulsory education. However, the gender gap is also apparent at earlier and at later stages of education. In this paper, we analyse changes over time in the gender achievement gap at the different stages of compulsory education. We first use a combination of data sources to paint a picture of how gender gaps have evolved over time and in what context they are most marked. Then we consider possible explanations for the observed gender gaps. We look at the relevance of school inputs, teaching practice and the examination system for explaining the gender gap. We also discuss the potential influence of wider social and economic changes as reflected, for example, in the much higher education of mothers relative to those of previous generations. Analysis of this issue is important in the context of research on the gender wage gap. However, it is also raises policy-relevant issues in relation to whether changes in the school system can effect a change in the gender gap in educational achievement.Gender, Educational Achievement

Educational Effects of Widening Access to the Academic Track: A Natural Experiment

It is difficult to know whether widening access to schools which provide a more academically oriented general education makes a difference to average educational achievement. We make use of reforms affecting admission to the 'high ability' track in Northern Ireland, but not England. The comparison of educational outcomes between Northern Ireland and England before and after the reform identifies the net effect of expanding the academic track to accommodate more students. This is composed of the direct effect of the more academic track on individual performance and the indirect effect arising on account of the change in peer group composition. Our paper is relevant to debate on the consequences of ability tracking and of expanding access to the academic track.education, tracking, selection

Widening access to grammar schools: the educational impact in Northern Ireland.

What are the overall effects on educational attainment of widening access to the more academic track? Research by Eric Maurin and Sandra McNally investigates using the 'natural experiment' of the grammar school system in Northern Ireland, which has survived long after its dismantlement in England.

Big ideas: education

Sandra McNally surveys CEP evaluations of a wide range of school policies in the UK. Education is a key policy instrument for addressing unemployment, rising inequality and falling intergenerational mobility, the social problems that were the focus of the first three contributions to CEP's 'big ideas' series. In the latest overview of the Centre's research, Sandra McNally surveys evaluations of a wide range of school policies in the UK.

Large benefits, low cost.

Is the government's National Literacy Strategy effective? Stephen Machin and Sandra McNally look at the evidence from the pilot project.

'Excellence in cities'.

The government's Excellence in Cities policy has improved the educational outcomes for secondary school pupils in disadvantaged areas, according to new economic research by Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Costas Meghir. But the study also shows that the educational benefits are not equally distributed: the most disadvantaged schools benefit and the effect is concentrated among pupils of medium to high ability.

Children of the revolution.

New research by Eric Maurin and Sandra McNally reveals that France's short-lived 'revolution' of May 1968 had long-term benefits for the angry students - and later for their children. These findings have important implications for the debate about widening access to higher education.

In Brief: Every child matters?

Sandra McNally and colleagues provide the first comprehensive evaluation of 'special educational needs' programmes.