A study of effective junior schools

Abstract In recent years the influence of schools on students' achievements has been called into question. The powerful influences associated with the home backgrounds of students have been seen as paramount. What the study reported here has attempted to do is to examine, again, the question of whether individual schools can influence students. The methods of analysis, therefore, examined the effects of schools over and above the influence of home backgrounds. The results demonstrate that schools make a difference. Furthermore, the study has been able to identify a number of key factors associated with the differential progress of students.