SCHOOLS in education action zones have not improved their test results as much as those outside them, according to new research. The Economic and Social Research Council-funded study by academics at London University’s Institute of Education found the six zones studied had at best “limited and inconsistent” impact on test results. “If anything, the schools in these zones had done rather worse than non-zone schools,” it said. “Paving a Third Way? A policy trajectory analysis of education action zones” is available from Anna.Hinds@esrc.ac.uk