Disruptive primary school pupils 'can cost classmates £75,000 in pay'

Disruptive: Researchers said taking one naughty child out of a primary school class could cost classmates in future earnings

Rex

Jamie Bullen

19 September 2016

Naughty primary school pupils can cost classmates £75,000 in lifetime earnings, a US study has found.

According to the research, a classroom with one disruptive child can lower children’s future earnings by more than 3 per cent.

Experts said badly behaved children can take up too much teacher’s time leaving the rest of the class to suffer, with the effect particularly prevalent in primary schools.

Previous studies have shown exam results could suffer if a teacher is struggling to control a pupil rather than teach the class.

Ofsted said classroom disruption led to a loss of an hour of learning a day in a recent report.

It argued well-behaved pupils suffered an unacceptable drag as a result. The report said: “For too many pupils, having a calm and orderly environment for learning is a lottery."

The latest research, carried out by the National Bureau of Economic Research, examined whether the effects of classroom disruption continued into adulthood by 20,000 Americans from primary school age.

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Disruptive primary school pupils 'can cost classmates £75,000 in pay'

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