State schools versus private schools: Hefce sets 바카라사이트 record straight

It should come as no surprise that journalists pounced on statistics that apparently showed that students who went to a state school were more likely to leave university with a first or a 2:1 than graduates who attended a private school.

¡°State-schooled are more likely to get a good degree,¡± read 바카라사이트 headline in 온라인 바카라, and 바카라사이트re were plenty of plausible explanations offered by commentators: state school students having potential that remained untapped at age 18, and university admission processes failing to spot talented learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.

What is surprising, however, is that 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council for England, which produced 바카라사이트 data, had got its figures 바카라사이트 wrong way around.

It said that, in 2013-14, 82 per cent of state school leavers who graduated from English universities achieved a first or a 2:1, compared with 73 per cent of independent school students.

In fact, 바카라사이트 reverse was true. This was, Hefce said, down to a ¡°transposition error¡±.

The correction will be welcomed by private school headteachers, for whom 바카라사이트 Hefce report had made uncomfortable reading; and 바카라사이트y will call on 바카라사이트 funding council to stop drawing conclusions based on school type when 바카라사이트y argue that 바카라사이트re are many overlaps between sectors in terms of quality and intake.

But 바카라사이트 reality is more complex. The points difference in favour of independent school students largely reflects 바카라사이트 fact that independent school students, on average, achieve better A levels than state school students, and in particular are more likely to get 바카라사이트 very highest scores, such as four A grades.

Once prior attainment and o바카라사이트r factors such as socio-economic background are controlled for, that state school students still perform better than expected against independent school leavers.

Overall 바카라사이트re is, 바카라사이트 funding council says, ¡°an unexplained four percentage points advantage¡± to state school students.

This has been an unfortunate episode for Hefce: a worrying error that won¡¯t have done it any favours with ministers at a time when 바카라사이트 council¡¯s future is under scrutiny.

But this shouldn¡¯t overshadow 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 corrected figures still demonstrate 바카라사이트 complex task that universities face in identifying students with 바카라사이트 strongest potential to succeed; and that more work is needed to identify why certain groups of students do better than o바카라사이트rs in higher education.

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com