Adopting an equity approach in education is about confronting social class divides inside and outside the classroom and rebalancing the school curriculum to nurture all children’s talents. More than anything else, this work rests on navigating a middle path between polarised views and false dichotomies in the battle over what is taught and assessed in schools. This approach doesn’t compromise standards. Instead, it moves beyond an exclusive focus on academic assessments to incorporate the more holistic approach set out in Labour’s 2007 Children’s Plan. If we get the balance right, there is an opportunity to reduce the stark academic divides that plague the school system.

Meritocratic elites

The problem with focusing exclusively on end-of-year academic assessments is that we devalue other laudable human traits, from generosity to creativity to practical skills. An obsession with tests squeezes out valuable activities like art and sport. It also creates an increasingly one-sided education race eminently gameable by today’s ‘meritocratic’ elites (Elliot Major & Machin, 2018). Everyone else is cast as losers. Today’s populist and polarised politics, it has been argued, are a direct product of this narrow view of merit (Sandel, 2020).

Persistent achievement gaps

My recent Nuffield Foundation research found this approach is not working for all children (Elliot Major et al., 2024). Our review of international evidence found that in 2022, 15-year-olds from the top 25 per cent socioeconomic backgrounds were around two to three years ahead of their peers from the bottom 25 per cent of backgrounds in the OECD’s PISA maths assessments. These gaps were similar in magnitude to those recorded a decade previously. Amid unprecedented levels of school absenteeism, we predict that socioeconomic gaps will continue for years to come. We also found growing recognition across the world that there is more to developing human talents than just preparing for narrow academic tests. Arts and sports activities have educational value in themselves, associated with improved self-confidence and wellbeing and enhanced social interaction and leadership skills (Higgins et al., 2016).

Class biases

‘If we want to create a curriculum that reflects and celebrates the achievements of all backgrounds, we need to celebrate in our curriculum the countless examples of working-class achievements in society.’

Moreover, classroom discussions remain dominated by knowledge produced by and for middle-class society (Elliot Major & Briant, 2023). This alienates many working-class students, especially those whose families have historically been excluded or marginalised by the very institutions meant to serve them (Weale, 2023). If we want to create a curriculum that reflects and celebrates the achievements of all backgrounds, we need to celebrate in our curriculum the countless examples of working-class achievements in society. Again, this is about striking the right balance to ensure every child feels valued. It’s quite right that all children should be introduced to ‘high art’ forms to enable them to prosper outside school, but equally we should value other contemporary cultural activities as well.

Studies have also investigated teacher bias by looking at the differences between judgments made by teachers and how well students perform in tests or assignments. On average, teachers tend to judge students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds as lower academic achievers than their test marks might suggest (Lee & Newton, 2021; Doyle et al., 2024). These biased assessments lead to students falling further behind from their peers (Olczyk et al., 2022). There are also concerns that official exam questions in subjects such as maths and modern languages assume a familiarity with pastimes such as skiing or theatre trips that disadvantage those who have not experienced similar activities.

Curriculum reform

Rebalancing the curriculum and assessment regime is one of the most important steps the Labour government can make if it is serious about levelling an unequal education playing field. The current curriculum review in England must ensure academic standards are upheld. But it’s time to reset our schools, ensuring equity and excellence so that every student can flourish.

References

Doyle, L., Harris, P. R., & Easterbrook, M. J. (2024). Quality and quantity: How contexts influence the emergence of teacher bias. Social Psychology of Education, 27, 1855–1882. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-023-09882-z

Elliot Major, L., & Briant, E. (2023). Equity in education: Levelling the playing field of learning – a practical guide for teachers. John Catt Educational.

Elliot Major, L., & Machin, S. (2018). Social mobility: And its enemies. Pelican Books.

Elliot Major, L., Eyles, A., Lillywhite, E., & Machin, S. (2024). A generation at risk: Rebalancing education in the post-pandemic era. Nuffield Foundation. https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/A-generation-at-risk-rebalancing-education-in-the-post-pandemic-era-1.pdf

Higgins, S., Katsipataki M., Villanueva-Aguilera A., Coleman R., Henderson P., Elliot Major L., Coe, R., & Mason D. (2016). The Sutton Trust-Education Endowment Foundation teaching and learning toolkit. Education Endowment Foundation. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/resources/teaching-learning-toolkit

Lee, M. W., & Newton, P. (2021). Systematic divergence between teacher and test-based assessment: Literature review. Ofqual. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/systematic-divergence-between-teacher-and-test-based-assessment

Olczyk, M., Kwon, S. J., Lorenz, G., Casoni, V. P., Schneider, T., Volodina, A., Waldfogel, J., & Washbrook, E. (2022). Teacher judgements, student social background, and student progress in primary school: A cross-country perspective. Z Erziehungswiss, 26, 443–468 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-022-01119-7  

Sandel, M. J. (2020). The tyranny of merit: What’s become of the common good? Macmillan.

Weale, S. (2023, October 3). Warning over unconscious bias against working-class pupils in English schools. Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/03/warning-unconscious-bias-working-class-pupils-schools-england