Understanding Pupil Destinations

“LEO data for England has always had huge potential for understanding the longer term outcomes of education. What ADR UK is really excited about is the additional value that this important data linkage can now bring to understanding and ultimately improving the long-term outcomes of education policy and practice because this data is now securely accessible to all accredited researchers via our trusted research environment, the ONS Secure Research Service.  We look forward to a working alongside the DfE to grow the community of LEO researchers publishing and sharing their insightful and useful research.”

Researchers at the Centre for Vocational Education Research have used LEO for many of their research projects. Many such discussion papers are published here. The themes of this research include estimating returns to different qualifications and apprenticeships, as well as evaluating the effect of various government policies on individuals as they progress through education and enter the labour market. To name a few of these projects, we have evaluated the importance of passing grade thresholds in GCSE English for educational progression; whether University Technical Colleges have an effect on early learner outcomes; the extent to which there is a labour market return to apprenticeships; and the earnings premia attached to undertaking Level 4 and 5 qualifications. LEO can also be combined with survey-level data. For example, in a recent paper, we use the World Management Survey to assess management practices used by principals of FE and Sixth Form Colleges. We linked this to LEO data to evaluate whether this is associated with the outcomes of learners. We find that well run colleges boost learner performance and can help close the gap between poorer pupils and their peers. The paper is available here.

One of education’s many roles is to provide young people with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to support their progression to further study, training and employment. However, the main focus of schools and colleges has historically been on short term attainment outcomes and less on long term specific measures of future labour market success. This exploratory research investigated whether existing data could help construct useful, supportive information for schools and colleges based on the longer-term destinations of former students.

“Our research draws on the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes data to show that there is potential for developing longer-term destination measures to help schools and colleges better understand how they are preparing young people for the future labour market. The findings suggest that policymakers should look to improve the longer-term destination measures available to schools and colleges at post-16 and work with schools and college leaders to develop best practice.”

The full report can be downloaded here.

Our research, which was commissioned by the Royal Society, considered trends in the subject diversity of level 3 (A levels or equivalent) qualifications taken by 16-19–year olds, and the association of this diversity with employment outcomes. Key findings include:

• The proportion of students with qualifications spanning three or more of the five main subject groups (sciences, maths, languages, humanities, vocational) has halved since 2010. This appears to be driven by reforms to A levels, including the decoupling of AS levels. The average number of qualifications taken fell by 43% between 2016 and 2019, from five to three.
• When comparing young people of similar backgrounds and educational attainment, some subject breadth is associated with marginally higher earnings by age 26. After controlling for prior attainment and other characteristics, those taking qualifications from two or more subject groups earn around three to four per cent more than those taking qualifications from only one subject group.