Does Being Excluded From School Harm Student Achievement? Evidence From Siblings in English Population Data

ABSTRACT A growing number of quasi‐experimental and individual fixed effects studies suggest that school exclusion adversely affects educational performance. Using population‐wide administrative data and a sibling fixed effects approach, we add to the evidence base by estimating the achievement penalties associated with exclusion, focussing on high‐stakes examinations taken at the end of compulsory schooling in England. We find large, negative, and statistically significant associations between exclusion and subsequent achievement, which survive adjustment for student covariates along with cohort, school, and sibling fixed effects. Our preferred estimates are also consistent with a dose‐response relationship, whereby larger achievement penalties are associated with repeat fixed‐term and permanent exclusions.