The Dynamics of School Attainment of England’s Ethnic Minorities
Abstract
We exploit a universe dataset of state school students in England with linked test score records to document the evolution of attainment through school for different ethnic groups. The analysis yields a number of striking findings. First, we show that, controlling for personal characteristics, all minority groups make greater progress than white students over secondary schooling. Second, much of this improvement occurs in the high-stakes exams at the end of compulsory schooling. Third, we show that for most ethnic groups, this gain is pervasive, happening in almost all schools in which these students are found. We address some of the usual factors invoked to explain attainment gaps: poverty, language, school quality, and teacher influence. We conclude that our findings are more consistent with the importance of factors like aspirations and attitudes.Download Info
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Paper provided by Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK in its series The Centre for Market and Public Organisation with number 05/130.Length: 61 pages
Date of creation: Oct 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:bri:cmpowp:05/130
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Related research
Keywords: ethnic test score gap; school attainment; education;Other versions of this item:
- Deborah Wilson & Simon Burgess & Adam Briggs, 2011. "The dynamics of school attainment of England’s ethnic minorities," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 681-700, April.
- Adam Briggs & Simon Burgess & Deborah Wilson, 2006. "The Dynamics of School Attainment of Englands Ethnic Minorities," CASE Papers case105, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
- I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
- J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2006-01-24 (All new papers)
- NEP-EDU-2006-01-24 (Education)
- NEP-HRM-2006-01-24 (Human Capital & Human Resource Management)
- NEP-URE-2006-01-24 (Urban & Real Estate Economics)
References
References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Roland G. Fryer & Steven D. Levitt, 2004.
"Understanding the Black-White Test Score Gap in the First Two Years of School,"
The Review of Economics and Statistics,
MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 447-464, May.
- Roland G. Fryer, Jr. & Steven D. Levitt, 2002. "Understanding the Black-White Test Score Gap in the First Two Years of School," NBER Working Papers 8975, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Roland G. Fryer & Steven D. Levitt, 2005.
"The Black-White Test Score Gap Through Third Grade,"
NBER Working Papers
11049, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Roland G. Fryer & Steven D. Levitt, 2006. "The Black-White Test Score Gap Through Third Grade," American Law and Economics Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 249-281.
- Steve Bradley & Jim Taylor, 2004. "Ethnicity, educational attainment and the transition from school," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 72(3), pages 317-346, 06.
- D.H. Blackaby & D.G. Leslie & P.D. Murphy, 2002. "White-ethnic minority earnings and employment differentials in Britain: evidence from the LFS," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 54(2), pages 270-297, April.
- Simon Burgess & Adam Briggs & Brendon McConnell & Helen Slater, 2006. "School Choice in England: Background Facts," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 06/159, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
- Cook, Michael D & Evans, William N, 2000. "Families or Schools? Explaining the Convergence in White and Black Academic Performance," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(4), pages 729-54, October.
Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Andreas Georgiadis & Alan Manning, 2009.
"Change and Continuity Among Minority Communities in Britain,"
CEP Discussion Papers
dp0903, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
- Andreas Georgiadis & Alan Manning, 2011. "Change and continuity among minority communities in Britain," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 541-568, April.
- Christian Dustmann & Tommaso Frattini & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, 2010. "Ethnicity and Second Generation Immigrants in Britain," CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1004, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London.
- Bhalotra, Sonia & Valente, Christine & van Soest, Arthur, 2010.
"The puzzle of Muslim advantage in child survival in India,"
Journal of Health Economics,
Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 191-204, March.
- Bhalotra, S. & Valente, C. & Soest, A.H.O. van, 2009. "The Puzzle of Muslim Advantage in Child Survival in India," Discussion Paper 2009-13, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
- Bhalotra, Sonia R. & Valente, Christine & van Soest, Arthur, 2009. "The Puzzle of Muslim Advantage in Child Survival in India," IZA Discussion Papers 4009, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Patacchini, Eleonora & Zenou, Yves, 2006. "The Dynamics of the Racial Test Score Gap During the School Years in Britain," CEPR Discussion Papers 5661, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
- Meschi, Elena & Swaffield, Joanna K. & Vignoles, Anna, 2011. "The Relative Importance of Local Labour Market Conditions and Pupil Attainment on Post-Compulsory Schooling Decisions," IZA Discussion Papers 6143, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Charles T. Clotfelter & Helen F. Ladd & Jacob L. Vigdor, 2009.
"The Academic Achievement Gap in Grades 3 to 8,"
The Review of Economics and Statistics,
MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 398-419, May.
- Charles T. Clotfelter & Helen F. Ladd & Jacob L. Vigdor, 2006. "The Academic Achievement Gap in Grades 3 to 8," NBER Working Papers 12207, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Simon Burgess & Ellen Greaves, 2009. "Test Scores, Subjective Assessment and Stereotyping of Ethnic Minorities," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 09/221, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
- Robert Cassen & Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, 2007. "Understanding low achievement in English schools," CASE Papers case118, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
- Simon Burgess & Deborah Wilson & Adam Briggs & Anete Piebalga, 2008. "Segregation and the Attainment of Minority Ethnic Pupils in England," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 08/204, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
- Deborah Wilson & Anete Piebalga, 2008. "Accurate performance measure but meaningless ranking exercise? An analysis of the English school league tables," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 07/176, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
- Patacchini, Eleonora & Zenou, Yves, 2007. "The Racial Test Score Gap and Parental Involvement in Britain," IZA Discussion Papers 2613, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
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