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Does Sponsored Academy Conversion Improve Academic Performance? Evidence from English Secondary Schools

Björk, Erik LU (2025) NEKN01 20251
Department of Economics
Abstract (Swedish)
This thesis investigates the causal impact of sponsored academy conversion on educational outcomes in English secondary schools, focusing specifically on the proportion of pupils achieving a standard pass in both English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4. Using a panel dataset of secondary schools from 2011 to 2019, and a two-way fixed effects staggered difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, the study exploits variation in conversion timing to estimate treatment effects.
The results show that sponsored academy conversion is followed by a significant improvement in academic performance. The estimated effect is an increase of 4.2 percentage points in the share of pupils that achieve a standard pass in both core subjects. Schools... (More)
This thesis investigates the causal impact of sponsored academy conversion on educational outcomes in English secondary schools, focusing specifically on the proportion of pupils achieving a standard pass in both English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4. Using a panel dataset of secondary schools from 2011 to 2019, and a two-way fixed effects staggered difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, the study exploits variation in conversion timing to estimate treatment effects.
The results show that sponsored academy conversion is followed by a significant improvement in academic performance. The estimated effect is an increase of 4.2 percentage points in the share of pupils that achieve a standard pass in both core subjects. Schools with higher shares of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) benefit disproportionately from conversion.
The study also examines potential mechanisms, finding that improvements are likely driven by increased expenditure, changes in staffing, and lower absence rates, rather than by shifts in pupil composition. By focusing on threshold performance, this thesis contributes to understanding how academy conversion affects students near the attainment threshold, thereby offering new insights into the relationship between academy conversion and educational inequality. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Björk, Erik LU
supervisor
organization
course
NEKN01 20251
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Academic Performance, Academy Conversion, Education Policy, Forced Academisation, School Autonomy, Secondary Education, Sponsored Academies
language
English
id
9194459
date added to LUP
2025-09-12 09:58:32
date last changed
2025-09-12 09:58:32
@misc{9194459,
  abstract     = {{This thesis investigates the causal impact of sponsored academy conversion on educational outcomes in English secondary schools, focusing specifically on the proportion of pupils achieving a standard pass in both English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4. Using a panel dataset of secondary schools from 2011 to 2019, and a two-way fixed effects staggered difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, the study exploits variation in conversion timing to estimate treatment effects. 
The results show that sponsored academy conversion is followed by a significant improvement in academic performance. The estimated effect is an increase of 4.2 percentage points in the share of pupils that achieve a standard pass in both core subjects. Schools with higher shares of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) benefit disproportionately from conversion. 
The study also examines potential mechanisms, finding that improvements are likely driven by increased expenditure, changes in staffing, and lower absence rates, rather than by shifts in pupil composition. By focusing on threshold performance, this thesis contributes to understanding how academy conversion affects students near the attainment threshold, thereby offering new insights into the relationship between academy conversion and educational inequality.}},
  author       = {{Björk, Erik}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Does Sponsored Academy Conversion Improve Academic Performance? Evidence from English Secondary Schools}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}