Socio-Economic Origins and Attainment at University: A Case Study

The analysis of the influence of socio-economic background on students' attainment at university has been hampered by lack of data, and such empirical studies as have been carried out refer only to graduates of recent vintage. This study makes use of a unique historical source relating to graduates of a major British university, which gives particulars of their socio-economic background and attainment over the period 1860-1955. Performance is measured in terms of a two-way breakdown of degrees into inferior and superior categories, and this classificatio-n is related to a socio-economic ranking based on fathere occupation. The data reflect a strong and persistent tendency for performance to be dependent on socio-economic origins, this effect being given more pronounced among female than among male students.