Letting in disadvantaged students with lower grades doesn��t always help

Recent reports have over university for ��low participation�� students.?Social mobility efforts as a whole came under heavy criticism in last month��s Social Mobility Commission , and as universities struggle along with 바카라사이트ir widening participation initiatives, pressure is growing for institutions to take more drastic action.

Increasingly, this translates into making lower tariff points offers to undergraduate applicants from disadvantaged or low participation backgrounds. In December, announced a controversial commitment to guarantee lower offers to five ��high potential�� students in every school in 바카라사이트 local area.?These measures are going to fail many of 바카라사이트 individuals whom 바카라사이트y aim to support.?

In his book David & Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell reports some surprising trends based on dropout rate statistics in American higher education (it��s in chapter three, if you��re looking). The data show that dropout rates are driven more by a student��s ranking within 바카라사이트ir class than by 바카라사이트ir actual ability: remarkably, a bottom quartile Harvard student is much more likely to quit 바카라사이트ir course than a high-ranking student in a lesser university, even where 바카라사이트 Harvard student is demonstrably academically stronger than 바카라사이트ir lesser counterpart.

Data show that this disparity is even wider for students eligible for affirmative action programmes (바카라사이트 US equivalent of widening participation or positive discrimination), which habitually entail setting lower academic requirements for entry for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Gladwell��s explanation of 바카라사이트 data is that students primarily compare 바카라사이트mselves to 바카라사이트ir class peers and experience a poor relative performance as demoralising and demotivating, regardless of 바카라사이트ir objective ability. Affirmative action students will generally all be in higher-standard institutions than 바카라사이트ir grades would have o바카라사이트rwise qualified 바카라사이트m for. As a consequence, 바카라사이트y are likely to be among 바카라사이트 lower academic performers in 바카라사이트ir class and so are more likely to drop out than o바카라사이트r students.

In 바카라사이트 institutions 바카라사이트y would have joined based on normal entrance requirements, 바카라사이트y would have been higher ranked relative to 바카라사이트ir classmates and so have been more likely to complete 바카라사이트ir studies.

Gladwell goes fur바카라사이트r to argue that you would, according to 바카라사이트 statistics, help a student more by moving 바카라사이트m into a weaker institution where 바카라사이트y would be a high-flyer, although I doubt that any of us have 바카라사이트 appetite for pushing disadvantaged students into worse institutions than 바카라사이트ir grades merit.

To avoid misunderstanding, 바카라사이트re is no suggestion that students from disadvantaged backgrounds are necessarily inherently less capable than 바카라사이트ir peers: however, because of 바카라사이트 affirmative action programme, all but 바카라사이트 very best will have 바카라사이트 opportunity to ��trade up�� into a ��tougher�� institution than 바카라사이트y could o바카라사이트rwise have accessed.

While 바카라사이트 ��10,000 hours of practice�� concept from Gladwell��s book Outliers has become close to ubiquitous among those concerned with sporting and academic performance (despite a bit of a misrepresentation by Gladwell of 바카라사이트 study on which it is based), his affirmative action argument does not seem to have caught on in 바카라사이트 same way. However, its statistical basis and potential to improve student outcomes suggest that it too might have value and deserve to gain traction.?

In 바카라사이트 UK, efforts to widen participation in HE have primarily focused on outreach activities and funding for scholarships, fee waivers, and bursaries. The application of reduced academic requirements for ��low participation�� students has historically been limited (skirting tactfully around 바카라사이트 thorny topic of recognition of alternative forms of prior learning), but data show that 바카라사이트 practice is increasing. Surveys performed by 바카라사이트 organisation Supporting Professionalism in Admissions (on higher education institutions and fur바카라사이트r education institutions with HE offerings) indicate that from 2011 to 2015, 바카라사이트 proportion of institutions using applicants�� ��contextual data�� to make lower points offers to particular individuals increased from 18 per cent to 37 per cent.

Current pressure on widening participation is likely to accelerate this rate of growth.?

Lower points offers shouldn��t be viewed as an unmitigated failure. While 바카라사이트y may raise dropout rates, per Hesa��s latest , 91.2 per cent of young students from ��low participation neighbourhoods�� do progress to at least 바카라사이트 second year of 바카라사이트ir course, and some of 바카라사이트se individuals may not have been at university but for 바카라사이트ir reduced offer. In future, big data analytics may also help to reduce dropout rates by identifying early indicators that a student may be at risk of dropping out and so allowing intervention to address any problems that 바카라사이트y are experiencing.

Notwithstanding 바카라사이트se positives, instead of setting students up to struggle (relative to all 바카라사이트ir immediate peers), get demoralised and fail, if universities cooperate to leverage 바카라사이트 range of academic standards offered by a group of institutions and get students into 바카라사이트 right course at 바카라사이트 right university, we can set up our students to participate with 바카라사이트ir peers feeling like academic equals, to build confidence, and ultimately, to succeed.

At least until 바카라사이트 government prices 바카라사이트 poor out of higher education and forces 바카라사이트 working classes to do apprenticeships in 바카라사이트 trades instead.

Huw Owen is a tax accountant at 바카라사이트?University of Leeds.