A recent BBC news article reported:
Academic selection "is traumatic for many children, creating damage which often endures into adulthood".
That is according to a briefing paper from Ulster University's (UU) Unesco Education Centre.
The paper argues that academic selection benefits "a few (generally already privileged) pupils while damaging the life-chances of a large proportion of the school population".
Most NI grammar schools use tests run by the AQE and PPTC to select pupils.
However, the tests were cancelled in 2021 due to disruption caused by the Covid pandemic.
Researchers from the Unesco Centre of Education at UU have produced a number of briefing papers which examine aspects of Northern Ireland's education system.
The report continued:
"Unfortunately for those who support grammar schools, there would seem to be little evidence that social mobility is increased by academic selection and there is considerable evidence that it generally does not happen," the briefing paper said.
Its authors point out that in non-selective schools, for instance, about 37% of pupils are entitled to free school meals compared to about 13% of pupils in grammars.
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