Assessing the role of grammar schools in promoting social mobility

Simon Burgess (), Claire Crawford and Lindsey Macmillan ()
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Claire Crawford: Department of Economics, University of Warwick and Institute of Fiscal Studies

No 17-09, DoQSS Working Papers from Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London

Abstract: One of the main motivations given for the proposed new expansion of grammar schools in England is to improve social mobility. We assess the role of existing grammar schools in promoting social mobility by examining a) access to grammar schools, differentiating among the 85 per cent non-poor pupils, and b) the higher education outcomes of those who attend a grammar school relative to those who just miss out and relative to those who attend similar schools in non-selective areas. We find stark differences in grammar school attendance within selective areas by SES, even when comparing pupils with the same Key Stage 2 attainment. We also find that grammar school pupils are more likely to participate in higher education, and attend a high-status university than those who just miss out in selective areas. However, conditional on attendance and prior attainment, they do not perform as well at university. Worryingly, those who miss out on grammar places in selective areas who are high-attaining at primary school are significantly less likely to participate in university, attend a high-status university or achieve a good degree classification compared to equivalent pupils in non-selective areas. This highlights the harm that selective systems cause to those who do not make it into grammar schools. Taken together, these inequalities in access and outcomes suggest that grammar schools do not promote social mobility and actually work against it.

Keywords: Grammar schools; Social mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 I24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-05-17
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-pke and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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