Ethnic Dutch children who start primary school with an educational disadvantage do not catch up with their peers by the time they are ready to go to secondary school, the Kohnstamm research institute says in a new report.

By contrast, children with an ethnic minority background have caught up with the rest by the time they are in 8th grade, the research shows.
The research is based on data from 1994 to 2007.
Researcher Guuske Ledoux told ANP further research is needed to assess why disadvantaged white children continue to lag behind in reading and writing skills.
‘It could be related to low expectations on behalf of teachers, a bad school, behavioural problems or lack of money,’ she said. The children may also have been affected when teachers focused extra attention on improving standards among minority children, she added.