Non-standard English dialects and the effect of supplementary funding on educational achievement

British Columbia provides school districts with supplementary funding to support the language development of students who speak a non-standard English dialect. Many of the students who attract this supplement are Aboriginal. We describe this policy, and record a striking increase in uptake of the funds on behalf of Aboriginal students over the last decade. We describe the results of an evaluation study that measured the effects of supplementary funding on test score gains between grades 4 and 7. The study found that the funding supplement substantially improved the reading scores of the average Aboriginal student.