Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP3776
Authors: Kathryn Graddy; Margaret Stevens
Abstract: In this article, we report the results of an empirical study of the impact of school inputs on pupils? performance in private (independent) schools in the United Kingdom. We use a new school-level panel dataset constructed from information provided by the Independent Schools Information Service (ISIS). We show a consistent negative relationship between the pupil-teacher ratio at a school and the average examination results at that school. Our estimates indicate that the relationship persists even when we are estimating ?added-value? models conditional on previous exam results. The results are noteworthy in comparison with studies for the state sector, relatively few of which have found a consistent and significant effect.
Keywords: exam performance; private schools; school resources; teacher pupil ratio
JEL Codes: I20
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| pupil-teacher ratios (A21) | average examination results (Y40) |
| pupil-teacher ratios (A21) | proportion of A grades at A-levels (C46) |
| pupil-teacher ratios (A21) | proportion of A grades at GCSE (C29) |
| average examination results (Y40) | pupil performance (D29) |