We show how young people's expectations about application to university change during the teenage years, drawing on the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE). We reveal the pattern of change by family background, prior attainment at the end of primary school (measured by Key Stage 2 tests) and, critically, the combination of the…

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an important cross-national study of 15-year-olds' academic knowledge and skills. Educationalists and public policymakers eagerly await the tri-annual results, with particular interest in whether their country has moved up or slid down the international rankings, as compared to earlier…

Chess in Primary Schools is a whole-school approach to teaching primary school children how to play chess. Children take 30 hours of chess lessons delivered by a tutor who is an experienced chess player, and the school is given the option to set up a chess club as a lunchtime or after-school activity. Chess classes are delivered during the school…

Investigation of peer effects on achievement with sample survey data on schools may mean that only a random sample of the population of peers is observed for each individual. This generates measurement error in peer variables similar in form to the textbook case of errors-in-variables, resulting in the estimated peer group effects in an OLS…

New evidence is provided about the degree of social segregation in England's secondary schools, employing a cross-national perspective. Analysis is based on data for 27 industrialised countries from the 2000 and 2003 rounds of the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA). We allow for sampling variation in the estimates. England is…

The concept of social exclusion has been widely debated in Europe, though there has been little discussion of its application to children. This paper examines what is meant by exclusion of children, considering the choice of reference group, the geographical dimensions of exclusion, and the issue of who is responsible for any exclusion of…

Noting that injuries are the leading cause of child death in all the world's more developed countries, this report is the second in a series of "Innocenti Report Cards" designed to monitor the performance of industrialized nations in meeting the needs of their children. The report focuses on child death by injury in the member countries…

The tables of child poverty presented in this document are the most comprehensive estimates of child poverty across the industrialized world. Based on an analysis of the latest data from the Luxembourg Income Study of household surveys, the first figure shows the proportion of children living in poverty in 23 nations of the Organisation for…

This third Innocenti Report Card presents the most up-to-date and comprehensive survey so far of teenage birth rates in the industrialized world. And it attempts at least a partial analysis of why some countries have teenage birth rates that are ten or even fifteen times higher than others. The starting point is a new league table of teenage birth…

This report represents the first ever attempt to draw a comparative picture of the physical abuse of children in the 27 richest nations of the world. UNICEF research estimates that almost 3,500 children under the age of 15 die from physical abuse and neglect every year in the industrialized world. The greatest risk is among younger children. A…

This report compares the relative effectiveness of education systems across the developed world. Data come from the Programme for International Student Assessment, Trends in International Maths and Science Study, and the International Adult Literacy Survey. Overall, educational performance in some OECD countries is consistently better than others.…

This report covers countries in transition--the 27 nations of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States--that embarked on market and democratic reforms after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. The theme is a generation in transition--65 million young people aged 15-24. Are these youths better off? Are they healthier or…

Americans like to believe that theirs is the land of opportunity, but the hard facts are that children born into poor families in the United States tend to stay poor and children born into wealthy families generally stay rich. Other countries have shown more success at lessening the effects of inequality on mobility--possibly by making public…