| Abstract: |
Given the large differences in educational attainment observed across
non-Indigenous population groups in Canada, understanding when these
differences emerge and what may explain them is an important first step in
informing policy discussions on the issue. Using the British Columbia
kindergarten to Grade 12 dataset, the Postsecondary Student Information
System, the 2016 Census of Population, and the T1 Family File tax data, this
study follows several cohorts of Grade 9 students in British Columbia over
time to explore differences between population groups, by gender, in the
probability and timing of high school graduation and enrolment in academic
postsecondary programs. The analysis assesses the extent to which differences
in high school course marks (Grade 10 English, science and math) and other
factors, such as adjusted parental income and immigrant status, account for
differences in these outcomes between population groups. On-time high school
graduation rates varied by upwards of 10 percentage points across population
groups for each gender, with lower rates registered by Latin American, Black
and West Asian students, and higher rates by Japanese, Korean, Chinese and
South Asian students. In all population groups, girls were more likely than
boys to graduate high school on time. Given an extra year, the graduation rate
increased among all groups, most notably among Black boys. For boys and girls,
enrolment rates in postsecondary programs were lowest among Latin American,
Black and White students, and highest among Chinese, Korean and South Asian
students. Differences in Grade 10 course marks explained a substantial share
of the gaps in education outcomes between many of the population groups and
White students. By contrast, adjusted parental income differences explained
smaller shares of the gaps than differences in course marks did, in most
cases. Comparing the standardized test scores for literacy of Latin American
and Black students with those of White students in grades 4 and 7, and
provincial exam marks in Grade 10 English, showed that skill gaps implied by
the lower (relative to White students) course marks obtained by Latin American
and Black students in Grade 10 may have existed at least as early as Grade 4.
Parental income may have exerted an indirect effect on educational outcomes
through its influence on academic performance (though this study cannot shed
light on this). |