The Dynamics of School Attainment of England’s EthnicMinorities

We exploit a universe dataset of state school students in England with linkedtest score records to document the evolution of attainment through school fordifferent ethnic groups. The analysis yields a number of striking findings. First,we show that, controlling for personal characteristics, all minority groups makegreater progress than white students over secondary schooling. Second, much ofthis improvement occurs in the high-stakes exams at the end of compulsoryschooling. Third, we show that for most ethnic groups, this gain is pervasive,happening in almost all schools in which these students are found. We addresssome of the usual factors invoked to explain attainment gaps: poverty, language,school quality, and teacher influence. We conclude that our findings are moreconsistent with the importance of factors like aspirations and attitudes.[...]