Nicholas G. Shakeshaft|Maciej Trzaskowski|Andrew McMillan|Kaili Rimfeld|Eva Krapohl|Claire M. A. Haworth|Philip S. Dale|Robert Plomin
Strong Genetic Influence on a UK Nationwide Test of Educational Achievement at the End of Compulsory Education at Age 16
King's College London|Medical Research Council|King's College London|Medical Research Council|King's College London|Medical Research Council|King's College London|Medical Research Council|King's College London|Medical Research Council|University of Warwick|University of New Mexico|King's College London|Medical Research Council
previously shown individual differences educational achievement highly heritable early middle school years uk objective present study investigate whether similarly high heritability found end compulsory education age 16 ukwide examination called general certificate secondary education gcse national twin sample 11117 16yearolds heritability substantial overall gcse performance compulsory core subjects 58 well individually english 52 mathematics 55 science 58 contrast overall effects shared environment includes family school influences shared members twin pairs growing family attending school accounts 36 variance mean gcse scores significance findings individual differences educational achievement end compulsory education primarily index quality teachers schools much variance gcse scores attributed genetics school family environment suggest model education recognizes important role genetics rather passive model schooling instruction instruere build propose active model education educare bring children create educational experiences part basis genetic propensities supports trend towards personalized learning