influence of pre-school and primary school education (explored in Section 3). The extent of
differences in standardised assessment results attributable to a child’s background is also of
considerable policy interest, given the equity implications for later progress at school. The net
influence of different child, family and HLE characteristics is illustrated in Figures 1.2 and 1.3.
The description given alongside each factor listed in these Figures indicates the strength of
influence in terms of the effect sizes (ES) for different pupil group in comparison (e.g. boys
compared with girls) for each factor tested4. An effect size is a statistical measure representing
the strength of the single effect. An ES of 0.2 can be seen as representing a moderate influence
while a relatively strong influence would be an ES of 0.5+.
Figure 1.2: Factors with significant ‘net’ effect on attainment in Reading at the end of Year 5
Reading: Factors with significant ‘net’ effect at the end of Year 5 | ||
Factor |
Effect Size |
Description |
Gender |
0.10 |
Girls higher attainment than boys |
Birth weight |
0.40 |
Normal birth weight higher than very low birthweight |
Ethnic groups |
0.35 |
White UK heritage higher than some minority groups |
Number of siblings |
0.21 |
3+ siblings lower than singleton |
Need of EAL support |
0.37 |
Need of EAL support = predictor for low attainment |
Developmental problems |
0.17 |
Early developmental problems = predictor for low |
Parents qualification |
0.64 |
Higher qualified parents = higher attainment |
SES |
0.36 |
High SES = higher attainment |
FSM |
0.27 |
Eligible for FSM = negative predictor |
Salary |
0.27 |
Salary > 67.500 £ / Year = higher attainment |
(Early years) HLE |
0.61 |
The higher the HLE -Index the higher the attainment. |
4 For factors where more than one category showed a significant effect (e.g. mother’s qualification or early
years HLE) the effect size of the most representative category is shown in Figures 1.2 and 1.3. Details on
effect sizes for other categories can be found in Figures later in the report.