Academic performance, background and pre-existing quantitative skills of economics starters: Mind the Gap!

We examine differences in early academic performance among economics entrants by gender, ethnicity and origin (home versus overseas), and assess the role of existing skills before entering university in explaining these differences. Using diagnostic test scores, assessment marks, and demographic data from three student cohorts (over 1000 observations), we identify sizeable attainment gaps between home and overseas students and across ethnic groups. By contrast, we find little evidence of differences by gender or socioeconomic status alone, except for an advantage of state-school over privately educated students and an advantage for men in Microeconomics among home students. Controlling for pre-existing knowledge substantially reduces, and often eliminates, these attainment gaps, suggesting that differences in early performance largely reflect variation in existing quantitative skills on entry. However, residual gaps for overseas students and some ethnic groups remain and our analysis indicates that language barriers may also contribute. These findings highlight the importance of targeted support at university entry to improve equality of opportunity and academic outcomes.