The Introduction of Academy Schools to England's Education

Andrew Eyles,Stephen Machin

doi:10.1093/jeea/jvy021

Abstract

AbstractThis paper studies the origins of what has become one of the most radical and encompassing programmes of school reform seen in the recent past in advanced countries—the introduction of academy schools to English education. Academies are independent state funded schools that are allowed to run in an autonomous manner outside of local authority control. Almost all academies are conversions from already existent state schools and so are school takeovers that enable more autonomy in operation than was permitted in their predecessor state. Studying the first round of conversions that took place in the 2000s, where poorly performing schools were converted to academies, a focus is placed on legacy enrolled pupils who were already attending the school prior to conversion. The impact on end of secondary school pupil performance is shown to be positive and significant. Performance improvements are stronger for pupils in urban academies and for those converting from schools that gained relatively more autonomy as a result of conversion.

Highlights

The introduction of academy schools to English education is turning out to be one of the most radical and encompassing programmes of school reform seen in the recent past amongst advanced countries
We study the causal impact of academy school conversion on pupil intake and pupil performance
We consider the impact of academy school conversion on pupil intake and performance

Summary

Introduction

The introduction of academy schools to English education is turning out to be one of the most radical and encompassing programmes of school reform seen in the recent past amongst advanced countries. Unlike traditional community schools which are run by local authorities, academies are autonomous, state-funded schools that are managed and run outside the control of local authorities. They are conversions of already existing predecessor schools and so they inherit pupils already enrolled in the school. They are school takeovers which, because of their nature, enable more autonomy in operation than in their predecessor state.. At the time of writing, nearly 2000 of England's secondary schools (or about 63 percent of schools) and a further 2300 (about 15 percent) of primary schools had become academies.. They are school takeovers which, because of their nature, enable more autonomy in operation than in their predecessor state. At the time of writing, nearly 2000 of England's secondary schools (or about 63 percent of schools) and a further 2300 (about 15 percent) of primary schools had become academies. The vast majority became academies after a change of government in May 2010 quickly ushered in the 2010 Academies Act, a legislative change that widened the academies remit.

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