Abstract
ABSTRACTWith approximately three times the resources per pupil in private compared with state schools, Britain’s private sector presents an interesting case of what could be expected from schools that are extremely well resourced. This paper studies the links between private schooling and educational performance in upper secondary school, as measured through their performance in ‘A level’, the main school-leaving assessment which determines access to universities. Using an English longitudinal study, we find evidence that, compared with otherwise observably similar state school students in upper secondary education and controlling for prior attainment, those at private school study more ‘facilitating’ subjects, which are known to be favoured by high-status universities; they are placed 8 percentage points higher in the A level rankings and 11 percentage points higher in the rankings for ‘facilitating’ A levels. We find evidence of a private school advantage for participating in undergraduate study, net of socioeconomic status, subjects selected and number of A levels but there is no private school advantage for attending an elite university, controlling for the same characteristics. Taken together with other studies, our findings mean that private schooling in England is associated with cumulative moderate advantages at every stage of education.
Highlights
The prevalence and significance of private schools vary considerably across societies
While some studies have explored these economic and social advantages associated with private schooling through social capital and social closure, an important focus in recent literature on British private schools has been the human capital argument
There are, we suggest, two aspects of upper secondary educational performance through which private schools may affect the probability of transition to a high-status university: choice of subject majors (‘A levels’) and the grades attained
Summary
The prevalence and significance of private schools vary considerably across societies. Much of the socio-economic advantage is accounted for by the fact that private school pupils. Our understanding of the association of private schooling with pupils’ attainment of educational qualifications and skills at different levels is, far from complete. This paper contributes evidence, for the first time, on the links between private schooling and educational performance in upper secondary school (the two final years of secondary schooling between the ages of 16–18, termed ‘sixth form’), the gateway to universities in Britain. There are, we suggest, two aspects of upper secondary educational performance through which private schools may affect the probability of transition to a high-status university: choice of subject majors (‘A levels’) and the grades attained. The paper contributes further evidence on the links between private schooling, subject choice and university progression
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