Chinese perform better in English than white children
Chinese children in British schools are outperforming every other ethnict1 minority group in tests and exams -- including the English at English.
The most detailed breakdown2 of ethnic and gender3 performance in national curriculum4 tests for 7, 11 and 14-year-olds shows that Chinese pupils do best in every subject at every age.
Chinese and Indian pupils outperformed white British children in English tests for 11-year-olds. In all, 83 per cent of Chinese students reached the required standard compared with 78 per cent of Indian pupils and 75 per cent of white UK pupils. The worst performing ethnic group in these tests were Bangladeshi children, with only 65 per cent reaching level four, the standard that an 11-year-old should achieve.
While the overall results show the performance of every ethnic group at GCSE is improving, they do highlight5 some worrying trends for white British pupils. David Miliband, the minis- ter for School Standards, said the results showed that -- while standards in secondary schools were rising——there was \"a striking6 gender gap between boys and girls\".
He added: \"The raw facts are quite striking -- 58.2 per cent of girls achieved five A to C grade passes at GCSE in 2003 compared with just 49.9 per cent of boys, and white working-class boys are one of the lowest per forming groups at 14.\"
\"Thereasonsare deep-seated7. They are cultural as well as educational. But we know the gap can be narrowed.\" He is backing a plan to persuade schools to drop study leave before GCSEs and replace it with structured revision in school.
\"Schools spend 11 years carefully nurturing8 pupils, yet in the weeks leading up to GCSE unsupervised study leave at home in many areas has become the norm. Just when pupils might benefit most from structured support and encouragement, they are left to their own devices.\" According to researchers, while girls study on their own, too many boys opted9 to watch television or videos instead. Mr Miliband cited Kemnal Technology College, a boys' only school in south London, where the percentage of boys getting five top-grade passes rose by between 5 and 10 per cent after study leave was cancelled.
The figures, compiled10 by the Department for Education and Skills, also show the performance of white UK pupils at GCSE is improving at a lower rate than for any other ethnic group. The percentage of white children getting five top-grade passes has only gone up11 by 1.8 percentage points to 51.3 per cent compared with a 4.7 percentage point rise to 74.8 per cent for the Chinese; 3.7 percentage points to 32.9 per cent for black Caribbean pupils; 3.3 percentage points to 40.7 per cent for black Africans, 3 percentage points to 41.5 per cent for Pakista nis; 2.6 percentage points to 65.2 per cent for Indians and 2.2 percentage points to 45.5 per cent for Bangladeshis.
One of the reasons, researchers suggest, could be the launch of the \"aim higher\" package last year. It included providing schools with extra resources to allow a senior manager to work on raising black achievement.
注釋:
1.ethnic adj.種族的,種族上的
2.breakdown n.分類,分析
3.gender n.[口](生理上的)性
4.curriculum n.課程,(學校等的)全部課程
5.highlight vt. 使顯著,使突出
6.striking adj.惹人注目的,顯著的,突出的
7.deep-seated adj.深層的
8.nurture vt.養育,培育,教養
9.opt vt. 選擇,作出選擇
10.compile vt.收集
11.go up 上升,增長
在英國學校里就讀的華裔兒童在測驗和考試中的成績比其他少數民族的孩子們都好,包括英語考試。
在7歲、11歲和14歲學生參加的國家課程考試中,有關種族和性別最詳細的成績分析表明:華裔小學生在各個年齡段和各個學科中都表現最好。
在11歲學生的英語考試中,華裔和印度裔小學生成績比英國的白人孩子好??傊?,83%的華裔學生達到了合格標準,而78%的印度裔學生和75%的英國白人學生達到了合格標準。表現最差的是孟加拉裔學生,只有65%的孟加拉裔學生達到了11歲學生應該通過的4級標準。
GCSE(中等教育普通證書)考試的整體成績表明所有種族的學生都進步了,但突出了白人學生令人擔憂的趨勢。學校標準司司長戴維·米利班德表示:成績表明,在中學整體水平上升的同時,“男生和女生之間存在驚人的性別差距”。
他補充說:“第一手的資料很驚人:在2003年的GCSE考試中,58.2%的女生得到了5個A到C的成績,而只有49.9%的男生得到同樣的成績。在14歲的學生中,白人工人家庭的男孩成績最差?!?/p>
“原因是深層次的。它們有文化方面的,也有教育方面的。但我們知道,差距是可以縮小的?!彼谥С忠豁椨媱?,說服學校取消在GCSE前的學習假期,而代之以在學校內進行有組織的復習。
“學?;ㄙM11年的時間精心培養學生,然而臨近GCSE考試前幾周,在許多地區放假讓學生在家復習已成為慣例?!?br>