Toronto school study shows great disparities among cultural groups in academic performance

Below is more evidence that Canada is paying a heavy price for its senseless immigration policy. Different groups will always perform differently because aptitudes vary from group to group. I fear that the effort to achieve equal outcomes where there aren't equal abilities will cause a lot of harm. We need to be more realistic about racial and cultural differences.

From the Toronto Star (Toronto's schools fail to overcome barriers by Louise Brown, June 13, 2008):

A startling demographic snapshot of students across Canada's largest school board shows the system is failing to help children overcome roadblocks of culture, race, poverty and family background.

The ambitious personal student survey of achievement, to be made public next week, is a call to action for the Toronto District School Board to try to reduce these barriers over the next five years, says director of education Gerry Connelly.

"It confirms our belief that the status quo for too many of our students is not working," said Connelly in a covering letter for the 55-page report, which shows boys lag behind girls in almost everything including math, that teens born in Mexico tend to fail more Grade 9 courses than classmates born India, and that students whose first language is English are less likely to pass Ontario's compulsory Grade 10 literacy test than those who speak Hindi or Serbian.

[. . .]

At a board committee meeting next Thursday, staff will unveil a sweeping new plan aimed at helping students over some of these demographic roadblocks through changes that could range from curriculum and teaching staff to extra free help for certain groups.

Among some of the gaps it will try to address:

Grade 9 students who identify as gay somehow do worse at geography than those who say they are straight – although both do about the same on the literacy test the next year;

Children of single fathers are more likely to do worse at Grade 8 science than children of single mothers – and both do worse than classmates who live with two parents.

Among the 4,800 black students in Grades 7 and 8, the 400 born in Africa are more likely to earn at least a B in math than those born in the Caribbean or Canada.

While board officials are not talking until they put the finishing touches on this blueprint, leading Canadian researchers in the minefield of demographics and learning warn these numbers can be more complex than they seem.

"This isn't some sort of horse race – we do this kind of research in the interest of equity because we know kids from different countries can come to school with different degrees of preparedness, depending on the dominant values of their culture," said Vancouver researcher Bruce Garnett, who has just completed his doctorate in the achievement of immigrant students.

"It's dangerous to use this kind of data to make genetic assumptions. The differences often reflect economic status or the school system in the country you came from."

[. . .]

Read all of Louise Brown's article.

See also:

High number of immigrant children places huge strain on Toronto school system

Toronto high school students who speak Portuguese, Spanish or Somali drop out at higher rates

An effort to encourage more Portuguese students to get post-secondary education

Ontario Safe Schools Act - Liberals plan to abolish zero-tolerance policy. Too many black students being expelled

90 percent of pupils in Mississauga school come from non-English-speaking homes

Does Muslim alienation start in high school?