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.

注释：

1．ethnic adj．种族的，种族上的

2．breakdown n．分类，分析

3．gender n．[口](生理上的)性

4．curriculum n．课程，(学校等的)全部课程

5．highlight vt. 使显著，使突出

6．striking adj．惹人注目的，显著的，突出的

7．deep-seated adj．深层的

8．nurture vt．养育，培育，教养

9．opt vt. 选择，作出选择

10．compile vt．收集

11．go up 上升，增长

在英国学校里就读的华裔儿童在测验和考试中的成绩比其他少数民族的孩子们都好，包括英语考试。

在7岁、11岁和14岁学生参加的国家课程考试中，有关种族和性别最详细的成绩分析表明：华裔小学生在各个年龄段和各个学科中都表现最好。

在11岁学生的英语考试中，华裔和印度裔小学生成绩比英国的白人孩子好。总之，83％的华裔学生达到了合格标准，而78％的印度裔学生和75％的英国白人学生达到了合格标准。表现最差的是孟加拉裔学生，只有65％的孟加拉裔学生达到了11岁学生应该通过的4级标准。

GCSE(中等教育普通证书)考试的整体成绩表明所有种族的学生都进步了，但突出了白人学生令人担忧的趋势。学校标准司司长戴维·米利班德表示：成绩表明，在中学整体水平上升的同时，“男生和女生之间存在惊人的性别差距”。

他补充说：“第一手的资料很惊人：在2003年的GCSE考试中，58.2％的女生得到了5个A到C的成绩，而只有49.9％的男生得到同样的成绩。在14岁的学生中，白人工人家庭的男孩成绩最差。”

“原因是深层次的。它们有文化方面的，也有教育方面的。但我们知道，差距是可以缩小的。”他正在支持一项计划，说服学校取消在GCSE前的学习假期，而代之以在学校内进行有组织的复习。

“学校花费11年的时间精心培养学生，然而临近GCSE考试前几周，在许多地区放假让学生在家复习已成为惯例。……