False Comparisons

It was stated on the 6th January 2002 that 13% of black teenagers in the London area leave school with 5 GCSEs (qualifications) or less, whereas the average number of GCSEs that any child achieves at school is now 6 or more. We may conclude that the school system is failing black children, and that they are disadvantaged compared to their white counterparts.

Can we? This is a classical example of a question that draws a false conclusion by quoting some data and uses it to draw a comparison where none is warranted. Let's take that passage apart one piece at a time: The conclusion is that black teenagers are disadvantaged compared to white teenagers, and yet the only evidence we are given is the success rate of black teenagers in the London area compared to the national average.

What we want to see quoted are some statistics that compare the results of black teenagers and white teenagers directly! Better still, how about statistics that compare the results of black teenagers in the London area with those of white teenagers in the London area - that is the most direct comparison.