Boomhauer

Not generalising, just pointing out that all isn't rosy in immigrant heavy schools.

As far as immigrants outperforming native Brits in school; well the real measure of accomplishment and success is what the students actually achieve later in life. A kid might be a C or B student in school but later in life he/she might invent something/innovate/be very creative . Test scores , SAT scores etc.. aren't the be all end all.

Eeyore

That doesn't happen very often with people who do poorly at school. Inventors, in particular, tend to show aptitude in that direction from a young age.

The classic example of the academic underachiever who goes on to have a successful life is the person who leaves school with few or no qualifications and then goes into buying and selling and ends up wealthy. You don't need to be all that bright to be a successful salesperson, you just need brass neck and drive. There are very few academic underachievers who go on to be innovators or inventors.

Boomhauer

Oh I didn't mean students who did poorly (D & C grades) , rather students who did decently (Bs) but weren't A students .

I think pracitcal hands on expereince , understanding the concepts , ability to think for oneself and exploring life is preferrable to a student who is primarily concerned with Acing exams and getting the 'right' degree.

What I noticed livin in the UAE is that Asian kids are very studious and good at Acing grades but American students are much better at creativity , thinking for themselves and exploring whatever avenue of life they sincerely find interesting.

shiraz1

"England's teenagers are "significantly above average" in problem-solving skills, according to the results of international tests."

"The OECD's Michael Davidson suggested that Asian countries were particularly strong at learning information, but it seemed that pupils in England were above average at how this information was creatively applied."



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-26823184