Its Secondary Education report, published last week, revealed a number of concerns with flagship policies, some "based on unexamined assumptions".
The two-year inquiry looked at diversity of provision, pupil achievement, school admissions and teacher retention and recruitment. Members identified a lack of "a coherent overarching strategy" for government proposals.
They recommend withholding the projected 5bn to be spent on the controversial development of 200 academy schools until they are shown to be cost effective.
They also said the Department for Education and Skills should carefully monitor the performance of academies, checking the number of pupils on the roll entitled to free school meals and number of exclusions in the sector. But a department spokesman dismissed selection suggestions: "Academies are required to follow a school admissions code of practice and comply with admission law which does not allow them to cherry pick pupils."
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