An ethnic group is one that sees itself as culturally distinct from other grouping in a society and is seen by others as distinctive. Groups may differ from others by country of origin, language, religion, dress or other aspects of culture. Some ethnic groups, for example the Irish, are not physically distinctive. Others are more visible and may be subject to discrimination and harassment, including in the education system. Ever since the arrival of immigrants to Britain from the West Indies and India, sociologists and educationalists have been concerned about wide gaps in attainment between different ethnic groups.

There are huge differences between the GCSE results of different ethnic groups in England, as well as gender differences. In 2004, Chinese pupils were 70-79% likely to achieve five or more GCSE grades A*-C, with Indian pupils not far behind (62-72%). These groups achieved more GCSE grades A*-C than the White ethnic group, with a 47-62% chance of getting five or more A*-C CSE grades. However, Bangladeshi and Pakistani achievement is low; Bangladeshi pupils had 41-55% chance of getting five or more GCSE grace A*-C, and Pakistani pupils had 38-5% chance. Black Caribbean students, particularly boys, performed very poorly, with their percentage of achieving five or more A*-C GCSE's being 27-44%. This has been the greatest focus of concern in recent years, because underachievement in young males is associated with unemployment, antisocial behaviour and crime.

Explanations for underperformance by some ethnic minorities have change regularly. Early studies tended to focus on psychological, cultural and material factors relating to the ethnic groups. Some sociologists felt that as ethnic minorities began to 'fit in' to life in Britain, their results would improve. David Gillborn's view was that school factors, particularly teachers' attitudes and aspects of the school curriculum, are more crucial explanations of different achievement patterns, though home factors have some influence.

Innate Ability is a 'Home Factor' that could contribute to ethnic minorities underachieving. Hans Eysenck and Arthur Jensen claimed that American black people had lower intelligence than white people. This was later discredited as the black students tested came from more disadvantaged backgrounds than the white students. The IQ tests set by white psychologists were likely to favour members of white middle class cultures.