Differences in exam performance between pupils attending selective and non-selective schools mirror the genetic differences between them

TY - JOUR

T1 - Differences in exam performance between pupils attending selective and non-selective schools mirror the genetic differences between them

AU - Smith Woolley, Emily

AU - Pingault, Jean-Baptiste

AU - Selzam, Saskia

AU - Rimfeld, Kaili

AU - Krapohl, Eva

AU - von Stumm, Sophie

AU - Asbury, Kathryn

AU - Dale, Philip S.

AU - Young, Toby

AU - Allen, Rebecca

AU - Kovas, Yulia

AU - Plomin, Robert

N1 - Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the ongoing contribution of the participants in the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) and their families. TEDS is supported by a programme grant to R.P. from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/M021475/1 and previously G0901245), with additional support from the US National Institutes of Health (AG046938). The research leading to these results has also received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Frame-work Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ grant agreement n° 602768 and ERC grant agreement n° 295366. RP is supported by a Medical Research Council Professorship award (G19/2). S.S. is supported by the MRC/IoPPN Excellence Award and by the EU Framework Programme 7 (602768). E.K. and K.R. were supported by a Medical Research Council studentship. S.v.S. is supported by a Jacobs Foundation Research Fellowship award (2017–2019). Y.K. is supported by the Tomsk State University competitiveness improvement programme grant 8.1.09.2017. J.B.P. is a fellow of MQ: Transforming Mental Health (MQ16IP16). Publisher Copyright: © 2018, The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2018/3/23

Y1 - 2018/3/23

N2 - On average, students attending selective schools outperform their non-selective counterparts in national exams. These differences are often attributed to value added by the school, as well as factors schools use to select pupils, including ability, achievement and, in cases where schools charge tuition fees or are located in affluent areas, socioeconomic status. However, the possible role of DNA differences between students of different schools types has not yet been considered. We used a UK-representative sample of 4814 genotyped students to investigate exam performance at age 16 and genetic differences between students in three school types: state-funded, non-selective schools ('non-selective'), state-funded, selective schools ('grammar') and private schools, which are selective ('private'). We created a genome-wide polygenic score (GPS) derived from a genome-wide association study of years of education ( EduYears). We found substantial mean genetic differences between students of different school types: students in non-selective schools had lower EduYears GPS compared to those in grammar ( d  = 0.41) and private schools ( d  = 0.37). Three times as many students in the top EduYears GPS decile went to a selective school compared to the bottom decile. These results were mirrored in the exam differences between school types. However, once we controlled for factors involved in pupil selection, there were no significant genetic differences between school types, and the variance in exam scores at age 16 explained by school type dropped from 7% to <1%. These results show that genetic and exam differences between school types are primarily due to the heritable characteristics involved in pupil admission.

AB - On average, students attending selective schools outperform their non-selective counterparts in national exams. These differences are often attributed to value added by the school, as well as factors schools use to select pupils, including ability, achievement and, in cases where schools charge tuition fees or are located in affluent areas, socioeconomic status. However, the possible role of DNA differences between students of different schools types has not yet been considered. We used a UK-representative sample of 4814 genotyped students to investigate exam performance at age 16 and genetic differences between students in three school types: state-funded, non-selective schools ('non-selective'), state-funded, selective schools ('grammar') and private schools, which are selective ('private'). We created a genome-wide polygenic score (GPS) derived from a genome-wide association study of years of education ( EduYears). We found substantial mean genetic differences between students of different school types: students in non-selective schools had lower EduYears GPS compared to those in grammar ( d  = 0.41) and private schools ( d  = 0.37). Three times as many students in the top EduYears GPS decile went to a selective school compared to the bottom decile. These results were mirrored in the exam differences between school types. However, once we controlled for factors involved in pupil selection, there were no significant genetic differences between school types, and the variance in exam scores at age 16 explained by school type dropped from 7% to <1%. These results show that genetic and exam differences between school types are primarily due to the heritable characteristics involved in pupil admission.

KW - educational achievement

KW - genetics

KW - polygenic score

KW - selection

KW - intelligence

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063089746&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41539-018-0019-8

DO - 10.1038/s41539-018-0019-8

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85063089746

SN - 2056-7936

VL - 3

JO - npj Science of Learning

JF - npj Science of Learning

IS - 1

M1 - 3

ER -