Date of birth and selective schooling: Some lessons from the 1944 education reforms in England and Wales

Abstract

We compare the probabilities of selective (grammar) school entry in England and Wales before and after the 1944 Education Act. The Act had direct and indirect influences on the costs of grammar education and on entry-exam coverage, design and marking methodology. Post-1944, grammar school entry among children born in the middle of the school year improved considerably. We argue that age-adjusted group standardized testing was an important contributory factor. The youngest pupils remained significantly disadvantaged. We produce evidence that this is consistent with the practice of streaming (tracking) junior school children at age 7 into classes delineated by average ability.