Upper Secondary Pathways and Progression to Further Study

Robbie Maris ()
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Robbie Maris: UCL Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) & Education Policy Institute (EPI)

No 25-08, CEPEO Working Paper Series from UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities

Abstract: Upper secondary education is critical in preparing young people for further study. This paper explores how various upper-secondary education pathways influence students' progression to further study, shedding light on their effectiveness in expanding educational opportunities. Using linked English administrative data, we compare progression outcomes across a range of pathways, including the brand new T level vocational pathway and the increasingly popular mixed (academic and vocational) track. We consider progression across three dimensions - overall progression to further study, progression to high-quality further study and preparedness for further study, proxied by drop out rates. We find that students on the new T level pathway are more likely to progress to higher technical qualifications and advanced apprenticeships than all other pathways. However, T level students are significantly less likely to enter university and, when they do, are disproportionately represented in lower-tariff institutions and courses. This is despite policy promises that T levels would be a "springboard" to higher education (HE). Conditional on progressing to further study, T level students are well prepared for their chosen course of study and they drop out at significantly lower rates than other learners. We also show that some pathways are more effective at supporting low SES students in progressing to further study.

Keywords: Higher Education; Progression; Qualifications; UK; Vocational (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D39 I23 I26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 60 pages
Date: 2025-08, Revised 2025-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-mac
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https://repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeow/cepeowp25-08.pdf Initial version, 2025 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucl:cepeow:25-08

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