Mobility in Pupils' Cognitive Attainment During School Life
利用英国1958年和1970年出生队列及2002年国家学生数据库数据,研究学生在校期间相对于同龄人的成就排名变化,发现社会阶层差距在整个学校阶段持续累积,并与成年经济结果密切相关。
This paper considers the extent of mobility in pupils' attainment relative to peers as they move through school. Considerable shifts in position are demonstrated using data from the 1958 and 1970 UK birth cohorts and from the National Pupil Database for 2002. These shifts in attainment in primary and secondary school are shown to relate strongly to social class, demonstrating that the large social-class attainment gap in the UK is not a one-off effect prior to school entry but a compounding effect throughout school life. These changes in relative attainment during school are also shown to relate strongly to adult economic outcomes. These results suggest that although there are good arguments in support of an increase in preschool expenditures, equality of opportunity also requires enhanced investments for the worst-off throughout school.