Government commissions have demonstrated that residential schools' ability to educate aboriginal students was compromised by widespread problems including (a) inadequate curriculum, staffing, instruction time, and parental involvement; (b) racism; (c) prohibition against the use of aboriginal language; and (d) maltreatment. This article uses psychological research and theory to explain how such problems exposed aboriginal children and adolescents to increased risk of poor academic performance, reduced capacity to continue education after leaving the residential school, limited employment prospects, and reduced income as adults.