The link between completing Reading Recovery and performance on a phonics screening check

The purpose of this research was to analyze the performance of pupils (N = 6,023) who took part in Reading Recovery (RR) in England on a decoding test, the Phonics Screening Check (PSC), administered at the end of Year 1 when children are approximately 5 to 6 years of age. The data cover two academic years (2015/2016 and 2016/2017) and include demographic information, pre- and post-intervention achievement test scores and PSC results. Descriptive statistics and linear regression modeling (using a linear spline specification for timing) were used. Results indicated that pupils who had an RR intervention before the PSC performed better than peers who had the intervention during or after the PSC. There was a positive and statistically significant increase in PSC performance among those whose RR intervention began earlier relative to the PSC

The internal validity of the school-level comparative interrupted time series design: evidence from four new within-study comparisons

Comparative interrupted time series (CITS) designs evaluate impact by modeling the relative deviation from trends among a treatment and comparison group after an intervention. The broad applicability of the design means it is widely used in education research. Like all non-experimental evaluation methods however, the internal validity of a given CITS evaluation depends on assumptions that cannot be directly verified. We provide an empirical test of the internal validity of CITS by conducting four within-study comparisons of school-level interventions previously evaluated using randomized controlled trials. Our estimate of bias across these four studies is 0.03 school-level (or 0.01 pupil-level) standard deviations. The results suggest well-conducted CITS evaluations of similar school-level education interventions are likely to display limited bias

Socio-Economic Inequality in Young People’s Financial Capabilities

Previous research has shown that the UK has low levels of financial literacy by international standards, particularly among those in lower socio-economic groups. This may have an impact upon young people, with social inequalities in financial attitudes, behaviours and skills perpetuating across generations. Using parent-child linked survey data from 3,745 UK families, we find sizeable socio-economic inequalities in young people’s financial capabilities, aspects of their mindset, and their financial behaviours. Sizeable differences are also observed in the financial education that socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged children receive at school, and how they interact with their parents about money. Parental interactions can account for part of the socio-economic gap in money confidence, money management, financial connections, and financial behaviours, but less so in boosting financial abilities. However, we find no evidence of differences in financial education in schools driving differences in young people’s financial capabilities

What effect did the global financial crisis have upon youth wellbeing? Evidence from four Australian cohorts

Recent research has suggested significant negative effects of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) on mental health and wellbeing. In this article, the authors suggest that the developmental period of late adolescence may be at particular risk of economic downturns. Harmonizing 4 longitudinal cohorts of Australian youth (N = 38,017), we estimate the impact of the GFC on 1 general and 11 domain specific measures of wellbeing at age 19 and 22. Significant differences in wellbeing in most life domains were found, suggesting that wellbeing is susceptible to economic shocks. Given that the GFC in Australia was relatively mild, the finding of clear negative effects across 2 ages is of international concern

Inequalities in late adolescents’ educational experiences and wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic

While the health risks of Covid-19 for young people are low, they have borne a heavy cost of the pandemic through intense disruption to their education and social lives. These effects have not been experienced equally across social and demographic groups. Using data from a nationally representative survey of 4,000 young people in England linked to their education records, we study inequalities in late adolescents’ experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic. We find particularly stark inequalities by socio-economic status, with those from poorer families facing disadvantage on multiple fronts, particularly in their experiences of home learning, returning to school, and exam cancellations compared to their more advantaged peers. Gender and ethnic inequalities were more mixed, though young females reported significantly lower wellbeing scores than males. This evidence suggests that the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities, meaning policymakers concerned with increasing equity and social mobility now face an even bigger task than before

Who Chooses Private Schooling in Britain and Why?

Through their social exclusivity, private schools are held to have contributed negatively to social mobility among older generations educated in the 20th century. But with huge fee rises, increased income inequality, increased wealth-income ratios, fluctuating public and private means-tested support for fees, and a greater emphasis in public policy on school choice, there may have been changes in the distribution of participation in private schooling. This paper studies whether there has been a notable evolution over recent decades in the social and economic composition of the children who attend Britain’s private schools. Where possible we have triangulated the description, using data from multiple surveys and aggregate information from censuses. Our main findings are as follows: 1.The proportion of school children from UK-resident families who are at private school has remained fairly constant and now stands close to 6 percent. About one in ten adults had been at private school at some point. 2.Private school fees have trebled in real terms since 1980. Despite rising incomes, the average fee for one child has risen from 20 percent to 50 percent of median income. For most, therefore, fees have become less affordable out of current income. 3. Participation in private school is concentrated at the very top of the family income distribution; however, even in the top five percent of the income distribution, only a minority attend private school – thus raising the salience of understanding parents' motives. 4. Leading motives for parents to choose private schooling are the wish for their children to gain better academic results through smaller class sizes and better facilities, and to mix with a preferred peer group. The peer group motive is masked by social desirability bias when using conventional survey methods, but is revealed through alternative methods. 5. We found no evidence that participation in private schooling has become less socially and economically exclusive in recent decades: - Both in the period 1994-2000, and in the period 2001-2016, just under half of private school families came from families in the top decile of the income distribution. - Between 2004 and 2014, there was no change in the proportion of private school parents who belong to the managerial and professional classes. - The cross-sectional income elasticity of participation is nearly zero across most of the income spectrum, but increases at very high incomes. At the 98th percentile it is estimated to be 2.1; in this sense, for the very rich private schooling is a luxury good. Conditional on income at this percentile, the wealth elasticity is estimated to be 0.57. - There was no significant change in the pattern of intergenerational persistence of school-type between the periods 1996-2005 and 2006-2013

Does attending an English private school benefit mental health and life satisfaction? From adolescence to adulthood

Previous research has shown that there is a small but significant cumulative private school advantage in terms of educational attainment in Britain. However, research on how school type influences non-educational outcomes is more scarcer. This paper aims to identify the extent to which school type influences satisfaction with life and mental health from adolescence to early adulthood. Using Next Steps, a longitudinal study of young people in England born in 1989/90, the authors use multiple variable regression analyses to address the research questions. They find that for this cohort there is no evidence of a difference for mental health and life satisfaction by school type for either men or women in adolescence or early adulthood