Generational Status and Academic Achievement: Revisiting Immigrant Achievement Debates Using PISA 2018

• In Event: Large-Scale Assessment SIG Paper Session

Abstract

Because immigrants and their children are projected to drive population growth in the U.S. and represent a large share of its labor force, their successful incorporation is a critical policy issue. One indicator of how immigrants adapt to the U.S. is the academic achievement of first-generation students compared to their peers. We investigate the individual and school contextual factors associated with differences in achievement between three generational groups. We use data from the 2018 PISA US sample. Our outcome is the mathematics test scores of 15-year-old students. Our findings suggest that family and individual differences explain achievement differences between first and third-plus generation students, while school characteristics are significantly associated with the achievement differences between the second and third-plus generations.

Authors

• Jeanne M. Powers, Arizona State University

• Margarita Pivovarova, Arizona State University