Grammar schools have virtually no effect as genetics determine academic success, study findsCamilla Turner, education editor
The Telegraph
23 MARCH 2018 • 1:00AM
Grammar schools have virtually no effect because genetics determine academic success, a King’s College London (KCL) study has found.
Researchers examined the genetic differences between students who attend selective and non-selective schools, then analysed their GCSE results.
They found that children who attend grammar or private schools are more likely to do well in exams - but this is largely down to their genes, rather than their school environment.
The study, published in the journal npj Science of Learning, suggests that the type of school a child goes to has little impact on their academic achievement by the age of 16.
Emily Smith-Woolley, the lead author of the paper, said: “Our study suggests that for educational achievement there appears to be little added benefit from attending selective schools. While schools are crucial for academic achievement, the type of school appears less so.”
She added that teachers and schools should be more open to discussing the role of genetics in the classroom, and the effects it has on educational attainment. Professor Robert Plomin, another of the paper’s authors, said that genetics should be included in teacher training courses.
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The paper (full text at
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-018-0019-8) is
Differences in exam performance between pupils attending selective and non-selective schools mirror the genetic differences between them
Emily Smith-Woolley, Jean-Baptiste Pingault, Saskia Selzam, Kaili Rimfeld, Eva Krapohl, Sophie von Stumm, Kathryn Asbury, Philip S. Dale, Toby Young, Rebecca Allen, Yulia Kovas & Robert Plomin
npj Science of Learning volume 3, Article number: 3 (2018)
Abstract
On average, students attending selective schools outperform their non-selective counterparts in national exams. These differences are often attributed to value added by the school, as well as factors schools use to select pupils, including ability, achievement and, in cases where schools charge tuition fees or are located in affluent areas, socioeconomic status. However, the possible role of DNA differences between students of different schools types has not yet been considered. We used a UK-representative sample of 4814 genotyped students to investigate exam performance at age 16 and genetic differences between students in three school types: state-funded, non-selective schools (‘non-selective’), state-funded, selective schools (‘grammar’) and private schools, which are selective (‘private’). We created a genome-wide polygenic score (GPS) derived from a genome-wide association study of years of education (EduYears). We found substantial mean genetic differences between students of different school types: students in non-selective schools had lower EduYears GPS compared to those in grammar (d = 0.41) and private schools (d = 0.37). Three times as many students in the top EduYears GPS decile went to a selective school compared to the bottom decile. These results were mirrored in the exam differences between school types. However, once we controlled for factors involved in pupil selection, there were no significant genetic differences between school types, and the variance in exam scores at age 16 explained by school type dropped from 7% to <1%. These results show that genetic and exam differences between school types are primarily due to the heritable characteristics involved in pupil admission.
