The most significant government policy since 1988 that can be argued to have increased inequality in education is the 1988 Education Reform Act. This was the most influential New Right market led approach that led to greater inequalities in education as the key elements of this act consisted of marketisation of schools, testing, National Curriculum and reduction of local authority control. For Marxists, this act reinforced class differences as Middle class parents were able to use cultural capital to ensure that their children got into the best schools (Bourdeiu), thus having the power to manipulate the education system. Marxists feel the increased marketization benefitted only the wealthy families through the idea of parentocracy. Not only
