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Dr John Jerrim, Lecturer in Economics and Social Statistics at the Institute of Education, University of London, has won a prestigious award for his research on the attainment of UK pupils compared to their peers in other countries.

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has presented Dr Jerrim with its first-ever prize for Outstanding Early Career Impact. The accolade goes to an ESRC-funded researcher "who has achieved, or is currently achieving, outstanding economic and/or societal impacts". Dr Jerrim will receive £10,000 to maximise the economic and social impact of his research.

The coalition government has often justified its plans for radical reforms to the education system by citing England's apparent decline in international pupil performance tables. Dr Jerrim has challenged this assertion with rigorous analysis of the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) rankings in maths. He found that there is no hard evidence of any decline in comparative performance over time, and urged ministers not to base public policy on claims that are not statistically robust.

Dr Jerrim was proactive in promoting his findings to the national press and relevant organisations, such as the Department for Education. As a result, his findings have been cited widely by senior politicians, practitioners and the media. Not only has Dr Jerrim's work changed the direction of the debate on an important issue facing the UK education system, but it has also challenged the way information is presented to the general public.

Andrew Dilnot, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, said Dr Jerrim's work "has clearly addressed an issue of great interest to policymakers, while also highlighting the importance of accurate statistical communication to wider society".

Professor Chris Husbands, director of the Institute of Education, is delighted that this award will help Dr Jerrim further develop his research. "John is an exceptional academic who commands respect for his work's thoroughness, and his willingness to explore difficult issues and ideas – however challenging the conclusions".

The prize winners were announced at an awards ceremony in Westminster on Tuesday, May 14. Professor Paul Boyle, Chief Executive of the ESRC, said the awards celebrate the contribution of social science research to solving the many challenges facing UK society. He said the ESRC is "delighted to celebrate those who have gone above and beyond in ensuring the best economic and societal impact from their work".

Further information

Meghan Rainsberry
Institute of Education,
University of London
m.rainsberry@ioe.ac.uk
020 7612 6530
075 3186 4481

Sarah Nichols
Economic and Social Research Council
sarah.nichols@esrc.ac.uk
01793 413122

Notes for editors

1. The ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize is a new, annual opportunity to recognise and reward the successes of ESRC-funded researchers who have achieved, or are currently achieving, outstanding economic and/or societal impacts. The prize celebrates outstanding ESRC research and success in collaborative working, partnerships, engagement and knowledge exchange activities that have led to significant impact. More at information at www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/celebrating-impact-prize/

2. Dr John Jerrim is based in the IOE's Department of Quantitative Social Science. His research interests include the economics of education, access to higher education, intergenerational mobility, cross-national comparisons and educational inequalities. In October 2011, he was awarded a prestigious ESRC post-doctoral fellowship for his research into the educational and labour market expectations of adolescents and young adults.

3. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. It supports independent, high-quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector. The ESRC's total budget for 2012-13 is £205 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes. More at www.esrc.ac.uk

4. The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London that specialises in education and related areas of social science and professional practice. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise two-thirds of the Institute's research activity was judged to be internationally significant and over a third was judged to be "world leading". The Institute was recognised by Ofsted in 2010 for its "high quality" initial teacher training programmes that inspire its students "to want to be outstanding teachers". The IOE is a member of the 1994 Group, which brings together 12 internationally renowned, research-intensive universities. More at www.ioe.ac.uk