Added Value Measures in Education Show Genetic as Well as Environmental Influence

TY - JOUR

T1 - Added Value Measures in Education Show Genetic as Well as Environmental Influence

AU - Haworth, Claire M. A.

AU - Asbury, Kathryn

AU - Dale, Philip S.

AU - Plomin, Robert

PY - 2011/2/2

Y1 - 2011/2/2

N2 - Does achievement independent of ability or previous attainment provide a purer measure of the added value of school? In a study of 4000 pairs of 12-year-old twins in the UK, we measured achievement with year-long teacher assessments as well as tests. Raw achievement shows moderate heritability (about 50%) and modest shared environmental influences (25%). Unexpectedly, we show that for indices of the added value of school, genetic influences remain moderate (around 50%), and the shared (school) environment is less important (about 12%). The pervasiveness of genetic influence in how and how much children learn is compatible with an active view of learning in which children create their own educational experiences in part on the basis of their genetic propensities.

AB - Does achievement independent of ability or previous attainment provide a purer measure of the added value of school? In a study of 4000 pairs of 12-year-old twins in the UK, we measured achievement with year-long teacher assessments as well as tests. Raw achievement shows moderate heritability (about 50%) and modest shared environmental influences (25%). Unexpectedly, we show that for indices of the added value of school, genetic influences remain moderate (around 50%), and the shared (school) environment is less important (about 12%). The pervasiveness of genetic influence in how and how much children learn is compatible with an active view of learning in which children create their own educational experiences in part on the basis of their genetic propensities.

KW - Twins

KW - Schools

KW - Cognition

KW - Children

KW - Human genetics

KW - Teachers

KW - Education

KW - Sentence Processing

U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0016006

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0016006

M3 - Article

SN - 1932-6203

VL - 6

JO - PL o S One

JF - PL o S One

IS - 2

M1 - e16006

ER -