February 2005/09 (web only)
Issues paper
This report is for information
Schooling effects on higher education achievement: further analysis - entry at 19
This report describes research carried out to determine whether the characteristics of an applicant's school or college can be used in an assessment of his or her potential in higher education. It extends the research carried out in HEFCE 2003/32, 'Schooling effects on higher education achievement'.
| To: | Heads of publicly-funded higher education institutions in the United Kingdom |
| Of interest to those responsible for: | Student data, Widening participation, Teaching and learning, Planning |
| Reference: | 2005/09 |
| Publication date: | February 2005 |
| Enquiries to: | Mark Gittoes
tel 0117 9317052 e-mail m.gittoes@hefce.ac.uk |
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Summary
Purpose
1. This report describes research carried out to determine whether the characteristics of an applicant's school or college can be used in an assessment of his or her potential in higher education (HE). It extends the research carried out in HEFCE 2003/32, 'Schooling effects on higher education achievement'.
Key points
2. In HEFCE 2003/32, we examined whether the school characteristics of an 18 year-old entrant with A-level qualifications to degree courses in 1997-98 can be used to determine his or her potential in HE. This report extends the cohort examined to include 19 year-old entrants.
3. The conclusions of this further analysis are as follows:
As in the previous report, for home full-time A-level students on degree programmes who were 18 years-old in 1997-98 and entered HE in either 1997-98 or 1998-99, we found that the effect of school performance is inconsistent. That is, under certain conditions, students from poorly performing schools are likely to do less well in HE than similar students from better performing schools.
The conclusions regarding the effect of school type are similar to those found in the previous report. That is, students from independent schools appear to consistently do less well than students from other schools and colleges, when compared on a like-for-like basis.
Action required
4. This report is for information.