Resources and standards in urban schools

Despite being central to education policy, there remains significant debate about the extent to which resources matter for pupil outcomes. We consider this in the context of an English policy initiative aimed at inner-city secondary schools. Results show a positive impact on school attendance and performance in mathematics. There is marked heterogeneity, with the greatest positive impact in the more disadvantaged schools and on students of middle/high ability within these schools. We conclude that additional resources can matter for children in the poorest schools. However, small changes in resources have little effect on "hard-to-reach" children.