ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the process of introducing comprehensive schools and the effects of different kinds of com-prehensives on student achievement. The authors have seen that Local Education Authorities varied in the degree to which they adopted comprehensive secondary education, and even where comprehensive schools were introduced, they differed in the way they were organised. They assume that certain students began their secondary school careers in the selective system. National Child Development Study data provide an opportunity to examine the merits of these conflicting positions. The analysis was designed to identify the characteristics of those attending comprehensives as they differed from those attending selective schools. To some extent, then, selective-comprehensive comparisons are bound to have a kind of 'apples and oranges' quality. Proponents of both systems frequently make the claim that their preferred system is actually better for both high- and low-ability students.
