Free to improve? The impact of free school attendance in England

Bertoni, Marco, Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel and Silva, Olmo ORCID: 0009-0005-6918-2206 (2025) Free to improve? The impact of free school attendance in England. Economics of Education Review, 109. ISSN 0272-7757

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Abstract

We evaluate the impact of attending two secondary free schools in England – new autonomous state-funded start-ups – using admission lotteries and a distance-based regression discontinuity design. We characterise each school’s ethos through text analysis of vision statements: one follows a 'no excuses' paradigm common among US charter schools; the other adopts a 'classical liberal', knowledge-rich approach. These features distinguish them from each other and from counterfactual schools attended by rejected applicants. Despite pedagogical differences, both schools significantly improve test scores, reduce absences, and lower student mobility. Our findings support policies promoting horizontal differentiation in publicly funded education.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Geography and Environment
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions L Education > LB Theory and practice of education J Political Science
JEL classification:	I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education > I21 - Analysis of Education I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education > I28 - Government Policy
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2025 15:30
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2025 18:22
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/129647

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