The Swedish model of schools championed by U.K. Education Secretary Michael Gove has not transformed the academic achievement of the country’s pupils, a report suggests today. The paper, published in the latest edition of Research in Public Policy, reviews the evidence on so-called “free schools” in Sweden. The report highlights evidence that shows a “moderately positive” impact of free schools on academic performance when pupils are 15 and 6. The report also shows that the biggest beneficiaries tend to be children from highly educated families, and that “the impact on low educated families and immigrants is close to zero.”The Tories argue free schools will give parents more choice, narrow the achievement gap between rich and poor youngsters, and drive up standards across the system because of the element of competition it will create. So far, more than 700 groups have expressed an interest in setting up a school, it was announced last week.Rachel Wolf, director of the New Schools Network, which helps groups to set up schools, said: “This research confirms that the Swedish system has brought improvements. However, their report does not examine the bigger and more important studies of charter schools in America … That research, including lottery studies at Harvard, Stanford and MIT, has shown that allowing properly regulated new schools can bring dramatic improvements in school standards, especially for schools for poorer children in poor areas.”Source: The Independent [London]