Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper reports on the findings of an ESRC funded project that contributes to the evidence base underpinning contextualised approaches to undergraduate admissions in England. We show that the bolder use of reduced entry requirements for disadvantaged learners is necessary if ambitious new widening access targets set by the Office for Students (OfS) are to be achieved. We demonstrate empirically that academic entry requirements for disadvantaged learners can be reduced substantially without setting these students up to fail at university. We also show that the use of area level measures to identify contextually disadvantaged learners – including the OfS's preferred measure, POLAR – runs a high risk of failure to reach the intended beneficiaries of contextualised admissions policies. We argue strongly in favour of the use of administratively verified individual level metrics to identify contextually disadvantaged learners, most notably receipt of free school meals and low household income.
Highlights
The Office for Students (OfS) has announced ambitious new widening access targets, which aim to eliminate the socioeconomic gap in access to higher-tariff1 providers in England within one generation (OfS 2019a)
This evidence clearly indicates that a contextualised approach to admissions, involving the reduction of academic entry requirements for disadvantaged learners, is arithmetically necessary in order to achieve wider access to higher education for disadvantaged students
While applicants entering medium-tariff universities with BBB at A-level had an 85 percent chance of achieving a bachelor’s degree, the corresponding probability for those entering with DDD at A-level was noticeably lower, but still reasonably high, at 69 percent
Summary
The Office for Students (OfS) has announced ambitious new widening access targets, which aim to eliminate the socioeconomic gap in access to higher-tariff providers in England within one generation (OfS 2019a). If medium-tariff providers were to admit the highest-performing ten percent of pupils from each group (private, state, FSM-eligible), this would mean admitting state educated FSM pupils with Key Stage 5 scores in the 3rd decile and above (approximately DDD and above at A-level) This evidence clearly indicates that a contextualised approach to admissions, involving the reduction of academic entry requirements for disadvantaged learners, is arithmetically necessary in order to achieve wider access to higher education for disadvantaged students (unless or until these patterns of attainment change). While applicants entering medium-tariff universities with BBB at A-level have a 68 percent chance of achieving a first or upper second class degree, the corresponding figure for those entering with DDD at Alevel is significantly lower at 30 percent This evidence suggests that higher education providers will need to Figure 3. The most valid and reliable indicators to use are officially verifiable individual-level measures of contextual disadvantage, such as free school meal status as confirmed by the applicant’s school, or lower household income as verified by DWP or HMRC records
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