Comparative interrupted time series (CITS) designs evaluate impact by modeling the relative deviation from trends among a treatment and comparison group after an intervention. The broad applicability of the design means it is widely used in education research. Like all non-experimental evaluation methods however, the internal validity of a given…

One of the main aims of Core Maths qualifications when they were introduced into the post-16 curriculum in 2014 was to help students develop their understanding of maths and its application to different subject areas, particularly in relation to further study (e.g., higher education). In this article, we explore whether Core Maths is fulfilling…

The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is available for students to take in Key Stage 5 (KS5) alongside other qualifications, such as A levels. It differs from most other academic qualifications at KS5 in that it is not examined, but instead involves students undertaking an in-depth project in an area of their choosing. Students are required to…

School dropout is a growing concern across Latin America because of its negative social and economic consequences. Identifying who is likely to drop out, and therefore could be targeted for interventions, is a well-studied prediction problem in countries with strong administrative data. In this paper, we use new data in Guatemala and Honduras to…

The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is available for students in Key Stage 5 (KS5), to be taken alongside other qualifications, such as A levels. It differs from most other academic qualifications at KS5 because it is not examined, but instead involves students undertaking an in-depth project in an area of their choosing. Students are…

Utilizing comprehensive administrative data from Norway I investigate long-term birth month effects. I demonstrate that the oldest children in class have a substantially higher GPA than their younger peers. The birth month differences are larger for low-SES children. Furthermore, I find that the youngest children in class are lagging significantly…

Childcare quality is often thought to be important for influencing children's subsequent attainment at school. The English Government regulates the quality of early education by setting minimum levels of qualifications for workers and grading settings based on a national Inspectorate (OfSTED). This paper uses administrative data on over two…

This article reports how statistical analyses of PhD thesis records can reveal future research capacities for disciplines beyond their primary fields. The previous research showed that most theses contributed to and/or used methodologies from more than one discipline. In Australia, there was a concern for declining mathematical teaching and…

Students' trajectories into university are often uniquely dependent on school qualifications though these alone are limited as predictors of academic potential. This study endorses this, examining associations between school grades, school type, school performance, socio-economic deprivation, neighbourhood participation, sex and academic…

We analyze class-size effects on academic achievement in secondary school in Denmark exploiting an institutional setting where pupils cannot predict class size prior to enrollment, and where post-enrollment responses aimed at affecting realized class size are unlikely. We identify class-size effects combining a regression discontinuity design with…

This report presents a descriptive analysis of uptake and results in the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), between 2007/08 and 2014/15. The EPQ is a level 3 stand-alone qualification taken by sixth form students. It involves undertaking a substantial project in an area of personal interest, where the outcome can range from writing a…

The English education system has undergone a large restructuring programme through the introduction of academy schools. The most salient feature of these schools is that, despite remaining part of the state sector, they operate with more autonomy than the predecessor schools they replace. Two distinct time periods of academy school introduction…

The relative lack of students studying post-compulsory STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects is a key policy concern. A particular issue is the disparities in uptake by students' family background, gender and ethnicity. It remains unclear whether the effects of family background can be explained by academic disparities,…

With integration of information technology tool for academic course registration in the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, the study assessed the agro-students' appraisal of the online tool for course registration. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 325 agrostudents; and validated and reliable questionnaire was used…

One of the main reasons for acquiring a Bachelor's Degree is the perception of higher education as a means of improving graduates' financial status. In light of the increased accessibility of higher education, a growing number of students hope to use their studies as a financial springboard. In the current study we sought to examine this…