Coleman, Plowden, Jencks, and now, Rutter: An Assessment of a Recent Contribution to the Debate on School Effects 1

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Abstract
Cuttance, P. 1980. Coleman, Plowden, Jencks, and now, Rutter: An Assessment of a Recent Contribution to the Debate on School Effects. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 24,191‐205. The general context of the debate on school effects in which the Rutter et al.study is set, is outlined, and a brief overview of the study is given. A critical assessment of the study is then undertaken via an evaluation of the methodology, statistical procedures, substantive educational findings, and the testing of the main hypothesis. I argue that the study fails to provide scientific evidence which is relevant and capable of corroborating its major hypothesis: that there are educationally significant differences between schools, and that these are explainable by ‘school processes’, after adjustment is made for the differences in intake between schools.

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