In academies, say, education's attempted (7)
I believe the answer is:
essayed
'attempted' is the definition.
('essay' can be a synonym of 'attempt')
'in academies say education's' is the wordplay.
'in' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'ESSAYED' can be found hidden inside 'academies say educations'.
(Other definitions for essayed that I've seen before include "tested" , "Had a go" , "Attempted, strove" , "Tried (E, not A)" , "Made formal attempt" .)