Peer effects: evidence from secondary school transition in England

We estimate the effect of peers' prior achievement on student progress in secondary school, using administrative data on four cohorts of students in England. Students leaving primary for secondary school experience a big change in their peer group and these changes vary randomly from cohort to cohort. We exploit this variation to identify the effect of new peers on student achievement. We show that peer quality on entry to secondary school has a significant effect on students' subsequent achievement at age 14. The effect sizes are relatively small and are linked to peers' family background and early age achievements.