The Decade of Immigrant Dispersion and Growth: A Cohort Analysis of Children of Immigrants’ Educational Experiences 1990–2002

Abstract

The 1990s marked the beginning of a new era of immigration in terms of volume and settlement patterns and also witnessed significant changes in the social contexts confronting immigrants. These changes could have significant repercussions for immigrant youth. While previous research on high school dropout behavior suggests immigrant youth are faring better in US schools, our research provides a less optimistic outlook. Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study (1988) and Educational Longitudinal Study (2002), we use multivariate analysis, regression decomposition and fixed effect models to examine how reading and math test scores of children of immigrants changed during the 1990s.

Gender differences in educational adaptation of immigrant-origin youth in the United States

“…Consistent with this theoretical framework, Hirschman (2001) found that while Asian immigrant youth were as likely as their US-born peers to be enrolled in high school, disadvantaged immigrant groups, particularly those of Hispanic and Caribbean origin, were less likely to be enrolled in high school than are native-born Americans. Relatedly, Potochnick and Mooney (2015) found that among first-and second-generation youth, reading and math test scores declined between 1990 and 2002 for Hispanics and blacks, but white and Asian immigrant-origin youth experienced no such declines in test scores.…”

Does isolation from immigrant students benefit or harm third-plus generation students?

“…The research findings on the educational achievement of third-plus generation students relative to first and second generation immigrant students have been mixed. Third-plus generation students are more likely to live in neighborhoods with lower concentrations of poverty and attend better-resourced schools than their immigrant peers-conditions associated with higher educational achievement (Crosnoe, 2005;Crosnoe & Lopez Turley, 2011;Pong & Hao, 2007;Potochnick & Mooney, 2015). Yet a substantial body of research indicates that third-plus generation students had lower educational achievement than their second generation peers (Crosnoe & Lopez Turley, 2011;Duong et al, 2016;Kao, 1999;Kao & Tienda, 1995;Palacios, Guttmanova, & Chase-Lansdale, 2008;Potochnick & Mooney, 2015;Schwartz & Stiefel, 2006).…”

“…When disaggregated by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and country of origin, educational outcomes vary considerably across immigrant groups and possibly across cohorts, although there is limited evidence for the latter (Demie, 2001;Duong et al, 2016;Glick & Hohmann-Marriott, 2007;Glick & White, 2003;Feliciano, 2005;Greenman, 2013;Kao, 1999;Kao & Tienda, 1995;Pong & Hao, 2007;Portes & MacLeod, 1996;Potochnick & Mooney, 2015;Schnepf, 2007;Sullivan, Houri & Sadeh, 2016;White & Glick, 2009). Potochnick and Mooney (2015) compared the achievement of successive cohorts of sophomore students and found that once demographic variables were controlled, third generation students had lower achievement in mathematics than their first generation peers in 1990 but higher achievement in 2002. Potochnick and Mooney (2015) attributed this apparent decline in first generation achievement to a shift in the demographic profile of the 2002 cohort.…”

“…Potochnick and Mooney (2015) compared the achievement of successive cohorts of sophomore students and found that once demographic variables were controlled, third generation students had lower achievement in mathematics than their first generation peers in 1990 but higher achievement in 2002. Potochnick and Mooney (2015) attributed this apparent decline in first generation achievement to a shift in the demographic profile of the 2002 cohort. Compared to the 1990 cohort, the 2002 cohort had a larger proportion of Latinx students, who tend to have lower academic achievement than other racial/ethnic groups.…”

“…Many of the studies that suggested there was an immigrant advantage were based on analyses of the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 (NELS), which was initiated in the late 1980s (Crosnoe & Lopez Turley, 2011;Kao, 1999;Kao & Tienda, 1995;Schwartz & Stiefel, 2006). More recent studies using the NELS-the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS) of 2002 and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K)-have addressed the heterogeneity of the immigrant population and educational and occupational outcomes over time (e.g., Glick & Hohmann-Marriott, 2007;Hao & Pong, 2008;Harris, Jamison & Trujillo, 2008;Hsin & Xie , 2014;Potochnick & Mooney, 2015; see also Chiswick & DebBurman, 2004). 7 Feliciano (2005) suggests that some of the within-group differences in immigrants' educational outcomes may be partially attributable to educational selectivity, i.e., the difference between immigrants' educational attainment and the educational attainment of their peers who remained in their home countries…”