It seems that Ed Balls, the schools secretary, may be about to crack down
(following a 'review') on local authorities' use of randomization to
determine secondary school admissions
Around 1/5 of secondary school pupils do not get first choice, a figure
which has not apparently changed since last year. I would be very interested
to know if educational and social researchers have made any use (through
birth cohorts or other serendipitous studies) of this opportunity to
investigate, on a (quasi) experimental basis, the effects of school, on
education and life chances (notwithstanding the real life issues with such
an evaluation - not least the decisions taken by the family when child is
not accepted to preferred school and any effects of perceived injustice)
Russell Ecob
Here are a few links:
2009 (2/03/09)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/4904853/Ed-Balls-Lotterie
s-to-decide-school-places-could-be-scrapped.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1158262/Ed-Balls-U-turn-School-place
-lotteries-face-scrap-amid-concerns-unfair-children.html
2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/1581663/Ed-Balls-
%27tried-to-bury-schools-bad-news%27.html
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