📈 Achievement
Average exam results differ between ethnic groups. Some groups do very well and others fall below the national average.
Differences in Achievement » Patterns in Educational Achievement
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Cambridge spec: 5.3.1
- What is meant by educational achievement and educational experience
- The broad patterns by social class, ethnicity and gender
- Global differences between countries
- Why patterns can change over time and between societies
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Unlock This CourseWhy look for patterns?
Sociologists do not only ask what happens to one student. They ask what happens to groups. If students from one group usually do better than students from another, that is a pattern, and patterns suggest that something in society is at work. Remember, a pattern is a similarity or difference between groups.
This lesson describes the patterns. The reasons for them are explained in later lessons, so here we only ask: who does well, and who does not?
Key terms:
- Educational achievement: how well students do in education, for example exam results, grades and qualifications.
- Educational experience: what school or college is like for a student, for example how long they stay, how they are treated and how they feel about it.
Social class
Social class is one of the clearest patterns. In many societies, children from middle-class families gain better exam results on average than children from working-class families. They are also more likely to stay in education after the school leaving age and to go to university.
Differences show up in experience too. Working-class students are, on average, more likely to be placed in lower sets, to be excluded from school and to leave education early.
Remember
These are averages. Many working-class students achieve very highly and some middle-class students do badly. A pattern describes a group, never every person in it.
Ethnicity
Achievement also differs between ethnic groups. In many societies some ethnic minority groups do better on average than the majority group, and some do worse. Groups are not all the same, and a single minority group is not a single pattern.
🏫 Experience
Some minority groups are excluded from school more often or are less often placed in top sets than other groups with similar results.
Ethnicity and social class often overlap. A group that does less well may also be a group with lower incomes, so sociologists are careful about which one is behind a pattern.
Gender
For many years boys did better than girls. In many countries today the pattern has changed. At about age 16, girls on average gain better exam results than boys, and more women than men go on to university. This is sometimes called the gender gap in achievement.
- Subject choice: girls and boys still tend to choose different subjects. More girls choose languages and social sciences. More boys choose physics and engineering.
- Experience: boys are more likely to be excluded or to be seen as disruptive. Girls are less likely to be excluded.
Common mistakes
Do not write that "all girls beat all boys". The pattern is an average gap, and there is a big range within each gender. Also do not say it is the same everywhere: in some societies girls still have much less access to school than boys.
Global differences
Patterns also exist between countries. In general, students in richer countries stay in education for more years and are more likely to finish secondary school and to enter higher education. In many poorer countries, fewer children complete school and literacy rates (the share of people who can read and write) are lower.
🏢 Years in school
Children in richer countries usually spend more years in education.
📖 Literacy
Literacy rates are lower in many poorer countries, especially among girls.
🎓 Higher education
Far fewer young people reach university in many poorer countries.
Even within one country there can be big differences, for example between towns and remote rural areas, or between girls and boys.
Patterns change
Patterns are not fixed. They are different between societies and they change over time.
- Over time: a hundred years ago few girls in many countries went to university. Today in many countries more women than men do.
- Between societies: a group that does well in one country may do less well in another, because the history and rules of each society are different.
This is why sociologists use words like "in many societies" and "on average", and why you should too.
How do we know?
These patterns come from official statistics such as exam results and school records, collected by governments and international organisations. Remember that statistics only show that a difference exists. They do not explain why. That comes in later lessons.
Exam-style question
(a) Define the term educational achievement. [2 marks]
(b) Give two examples of social groups whose educational achievement is compared by sociologists. [2 marks]
(c) Describe three patterns in educational achievement or experience. [6 marks]
Model answer
(a) Educational achievement is how well students do in education (1), for example exam results or qualifications gained (1).
(b) Social classes, for example middle class and working class (1). Boys and girls (1). (Ethnic groups would also gain the mark.)
(c) 1. On average, middle-class students gain better exam results than working-class students (1), and are more likely to go on to university (1). 2. At about 16, girls on average gain better results than boys in many countries (1), and more women than men go to university (1). 3. Students in richer countries usually stay in education for more years than students in many poorer countries (1), and literacy rates are lower in many poorer countries (1).
Exam tip
For "describe three patterns" give three different patterns, not three facts about the same one. Say "on average" so that you do not claim it is true for everyone.