As quietly as it is kept by bio-determinists, there has been a fascinating development in Britain since 2004: African girls have had higher grades than White British boys. According to an analytical breakdown of the national educational department‟s testing results for 2004, Black African girls outscored White boys, and the lowest achievers did not belong to an ethnic group at all, but to poor children.
“Among pupils who are eligible for free school meals only 24% score five good grades, compared with an average of 55% among pupils who are not eligible,” the study found. (“Black girls overtake white boys")
In 2007, another BBC report found that “Afro-Caribbean pupils do no worse than white British from similar economic backgrounds….” (“Low attainers "poor white boys"”")
This report found that “The chief characteristic of low achievers is that they come from disadvantaged backgrounds. They are more likely to qualify for free school meals, live in areas of high unemployment, and have single parents who themselves have poor qualifications.”
The following year, the BBC reported that the situation was especially bad:
Five out of six poor white boys in England did not meet the government's [educational target]. This compares to 25% of black boys and 32% of Asian boys of similar backgrounds….Only one group performed worse - Gypsy/Romany pupils on free school meals….The now-established attainment gap between the poorest members of different ethnic groups has prompted some to call for extra resources to be targeted specifically at poor, white boys. (“Poor white boys still lag behind.” (Read here.)
For many British educators, the situation is truly dire. According to another 2008 BBC report:
White working class pupils should be given the same focused help as ethnic minorities have received, a study says. The poorest white boys and girls are the lowest attaining group in England, save for gypsy [sic] and traveller children.
A study into how to break the cycle of white working class underachievement suggests more resources should be targeted at pupils from these families. ("Aim school help at 'poor whites'")
People of African descent are demonstrating their smarts in many unexpected ways. For example, in 2008, the Associated Press reported that Africans from Francophone countries are becoming major winners in international Scrabble competition. To prepare for the Francophone World Championship, Elisee Poka of the Ivory Coast relied upon a dictionary. However:
His French competitors used computers to spit out anagrams, the game‟s key building block. But in spite of all their advantages, France lost to an African player for the third year in a row…in the one- on-one duel at the Francophone World Scrabble Championship.
“We have far less means than the French players,” says Poka, who as a child made his own Scrabble set out of wood because he couldn‟t afford a store-bought one. “But we keep on beating them.” ("For Some Africans, Scrabble More Than Just a Game," by Rukmini Callimachi()
The story noted that, ironically, the French colonized these nations, and France still holds great influence over these countries. Moreover, many of the people of these nations are illiterate, and French is not their first language. The story continued:
Although the French-language championship is now in its 37th year, it was not until 2000 that an African player grabbed one of the top honors. When [Arona] Gaye and his Senegalese partner won the doubles tournament in Paris, the French were shocked - and a tad embarrassed….Since then, Senegal hasn‟t looked back and last year [2007], Senegalese players grabbed three of the top four trophies at the World Championship in Quebec. No African has yet won the grand champion title, which is based in the four different competitions. But this year‟s [2008] No. 3 overall player is from Congo. Organizers say it won‟t be long before a player from the continent breaks the world ceiling. (ibid.)
It seems that there is no lack of evidence that Black people can shine intellectually whenever they are in the proper environment, receive the proper encouragement and come to believe in themselves. On the other hand, White people are just as likely to fail as members from any other group if they are deprived of a good environment, strong family support, etc. Yet bio-determinists continue to insist that standardized test scores - especially IQ tests - are the sole determinants of success and individual destiny, and that IQ is fixed. They just don‟t get it., nor do they even want to.
Despite all of the challenges to their claim that IQ is everything, race scholars will continue to argue that Black nations have never brought forth any major contributions to world history or human civilization. However, in Part nine, I will easily blow that myth to smithereens.