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Cognitive and educational attainment in different ethnic groups

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

A. M. West ,
N. J. Mackintosh  and
C. G. N. Mascie-Taylor
A. M. West
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
N. J. Mackintosh
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
C. G. N. Mascie-Taylor
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge
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Summary

The educational attainment of over 2000 children aged 7–15 years from six different ethnic groups was assessed. Children of Pakistani and of Bangladeshi origin tended to obtain the lowest mean scores on all tests, often well below those of West Indian children, who tended to perform as well as Indian children and often no worse than the indigenous majority. There were few signs of any reliable trends over age. Differences were more pronounced on tests of reading and vocabulary than on tests of mathematics but, on tests of non-verbal reasoning, most ethnic minorities also obtained low scores. Many of these differences were associated with differences in social and family circumstances.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , October 1992 , pp. 539 - 554
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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