These are findings from a research analysis published last week by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and Professors John Jerrim and Toby Greany from the UCL Institute of Education (IoE).
The report looks at the attainment gap and the performance of disadvantaged pupils in England as compared to other countries. It converts the latest results from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) into GCSE grades in order to make the comparisons.
For maths, the report finds that the average maths GCSE grade of disadvantaged pupils in England is around 3.8. This ranks England in the lower half of the OECD countries – 25 out of 44.
Furthermore, our attainment gap in maths is equivalent to one GCSE grade, ranking us 27 out of 44.
For reading, England’s performance is better. Disadvantaged pupils scored an average grade of 4 and we rank 17 out of 44. The gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is 0.76 of a GCSE grade – around the average of other OECD countries.
However, the research warns that OECD evidence shows that high performance does not automatically lead to greater equity in outcomes. The report states: “Based on analysis of the 2015 PISA data, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Hong Kong and Macao tend to achieve both high performance and high equity. However, countries such as Singapore and China also demonstrate that high performance is not always a guarantee of greater equity. Policy-makers therefore need to identify the common features of high performing and high-equity nations.”
The research identifies areas in which policy or practice in England differs most significantly from such nations. These include:
- Segregation, selection and streaming/setting: “The OECD is clear that policy-makers should seek to limit both selection by ability and the negative consequences of school choice. Both policies have the effect of increasing segregation or stratification between schools, with disadvantaged pupils more likely to be found in less popular schools.”
- Attracting, supporting and retaining high-quality teachers: “In the PISA 2015 survey, 45 per cent of headteachers in England reported that teacher shortages were the greatest barrier to improving outcomes, compared to around 30 per cent for the OECD. The situation in disadvantaged schools is more acute.”
- A responsive funding system: “England fares reasonably well on this measure. Plans to introduce a new national funding formula in England will improve the transparency of school budgets and the Pupil Premium provides further resources. But policy-makers should not be complacent. The new national funding formula will redistribute some funding away from disadvantaged pupils and there are still widespread concerns about the overall quantum of funding.”
Natalie Perera, one of the co-authors of the report and the executive director at the EPI, said: “Although establishing England as a leading nation for supporting disadvantaged pupils remains a huge challenge, there are several countries which have seen success on both levels of equity, and performance. If we wish to improve on these measures and ensure our school system works for pupils of all backgrounds, learning from the experiences of these nations is essential”.
- Educational Disadvantage: How does England compare? (Education Policy Institute, UCL Institute of Education, April 2018) can be downloaded via http://bit.ly/2HmjHN7