School autonomy and pupils’ performance: Academy conversion in English primary schools

Sabrina Auci, Manuela Coromaldi and Gianni De Fraja

Economics of Education Review, 2025, vol. 107, issue C

Abstract: This paper examines the effect on primary school pupils’ education attainment of their school’s conversion to “academy” status, a change in the schools’ governance regime which increased their managerial autonomy. We use a panel switching regression model where the conversion decision is instrumented with the attitude towards conversion of the stakeholders in the school’s administrative authority to account for the potential endogeneity of the conversion to academy status. We look beyond the average effect, and focus on the potential difference in effect for different children and different schools and as time passes. We find that conversion had at most limited effects on the pupils’ attainment in the short term. Any improved attainment fades away as time passes, and is weaker or absent for more able children, and for those in schools with fewer advantaged pupils.

Keywords: Academy; Primary school; Educational attainment; School autonomy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H42 I20 I28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:107:y:2025:i:c:s0272775725000548

DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102674

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