Full Citation

Title: The Academic Progress of Hispanic Immigrants

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2015

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Abstract: Past research has shown that Hispanic students make test score gains relative to whites as they age through school; however, this finding stands in contrast to the experience of blacks, who show little change in their relative position over the same time frame. Distinguishing Hispanic students by immigrant generation, I find that the children of immigrants (first- and second-generation Hispanics) drive the improvement in Hispanic test scores. Latergeneration Hispanics consistently perform slightly below whites, perhaps due to negative selection into ethnic identification. Thus, previous estimates vastly understate the progress of first- and second-generation Hispanic immigrants. From a negative gap in 3rd grade, these students surpass socioeconomically similar whites in math and reading by middle school and end 8th grade as much as a quarter of a standard deviation ahead. Assimilation alone cannot explain this progress; a potential explanation is that immigrant parents create a home environment that fosters achievement.

Url: https://www.iza.org/en/publications/dp/9307/the-academic-progress-of-hispanic-immigrants

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Hull, Marie C

Series Title: IZA Discussion Papers

Publication Number: 9307

Institution: IZA

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Publisher Location: Bonn

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Education, Race and Ethnicity

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