Immigration and Education: An Overview of Key Trends

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Immigration and EducationAn Overview of Key
Trends

• Lee Mizell
• May 2001

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Immigration is a primary driver of increasing
demand for education.

• Elementary and secondary school enrollment
  approximating the high set in 1970
• Increasing enrollment driven by
• Immigration and Children of immigrants
• 20 of elementary and high school students had at
  least one foreign-born parent in 1999.
• In California this figure was almost 50.
• Only 10 of foreign-born individuals are under 18
  yrs
• Increased births to baby boomers between 1981 and
  1994
• (Source School Enrollment in the United States
  Social and Economic Characteristics of Students
  October 1999, U.S. Census Bureau)

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Immigrant children are an increasing share of all
students.
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Most immigrant students now come from Mexico and
Latin America.
Country of Origin of Immigrant Children, 1970 and
1995
Sources 1970 1 PUMS, 1995 October CPS
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Immigrant children are more likely to live in
urban areas than native children.
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Immigrants and natives have similar primary
school enrollment rates.

• Immigrants and natives are as likely to enroll in
  U.S. primary and middle schools.
• Immigrants less likely to enroll in U.S. high
  schools.
• This difference is due to immigrants of Hispanic
  origin.
• Older Hispanic youth less likely to drop-in to
  school system.
• In 1990, 25 of immigrant Mexican youth 15-17 yrs
  were not in school.
• By age 15, Mexican immigrants had been out of
  school in Mexico for 2 yrs on average.
• Of those that do enroll, there is a higher
  proportion of foreign-born in upper grades
  because they enter U.S. schools laterally and at
  a higher age than natives.

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Immigrants fare well on average.

• Conditional on having been enrolled in a U.S.
  high school by grade 10
• Immigrant high school sophomores are just as
  likely as natives to graduate from high school
  within four years from their sophomore year.
• Immigrant high school graduates are more likely
  than their native counterparts to
• have enrolled in the college-bound track in high
  school
• enroll in postsecondary education, and
• stay continuously through four years of college.
• (Source Vernez, G. , Abrahamse, A, and Quigley,
  D. (1996). How Immigrants Fare in U.S. Education.
  RAND MR-718-AMF)

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Immigrant high school students more likely to be
on academic track.
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Higher of immigrant hs seniors plan to go to
college than natives.
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Dropout rates are the lowest in the second
generation.
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LEP students dropout at higher rate than non-LEP
students.
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Percentage of LEP K-12 students declines across
generations.
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Factors affecting college-going and retention of
immigrants include

• Parents education
• Immigrants with a father who went to college are
  more likely to go to college themselves.
• Geography
• Urban immigrants are more likely to enroll in
  college than those in rural schools.
• Work status of mother
• College-going is positively affected by a mother
  working outside the home
• Presence of siblings
• Immigrant college-going is negatively affected by
  the presence of three or more siblings.
• Aspirations
• Holding income, education of parents, and other
  individual and family factors constant,
  immigrants are more likely to go to college
  because they hold higher educational aspirations.

Sources Vernez, G. and Abrahamse, A. (1996),
Schwartz, W. (1996)
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Educational attainment varies greatly between
regions of origin....
This graph includes all foreign-born, not just
those who enrolled in U.S. schools
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...and within region of origin.
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Thinking forward.....

• Hispanic immigrants their children lag behind
  their counterparts in
• enrollment rates in higher grades
• LEP status
• participation in college-bound track
• aspirations for higher education and
• overall educational attainment.
• As Hispanics constitute an increasingly
  proportion of the population, the educational
  attainment of this group will determine their
  economic well-being and will in large measure
  determine the quality of the future labor force.
• What are the appropriate interventions for
  increasing educational outcomes for this
  population?

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Sources

• Fix, M. and Passel, J. (1994). Immigration and
  Immigrants Setting the Record Straight. The
  Urban Institute.
• Gray, M., Rolph, E., and Melamid, E. (1996).
  Immigration and Higher Education. Institutional
  Responses to Changing Demographics. MR-751-AMF
• Ruiz-de-Velasco, J. and Fix, M. (2000).
  Overlooked and Underserved Immigrant Students
  in U.S. Secondary Schools. Urban Institute.
• Schwartz, W. (1996). Immigrants and Their
  Educational Attainment Some Facts and Findings.
  ERIC Digest, Number 116. ED402398
• U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1999). School
  Enrollment in the U.S. Social and Economic
  Characteristics of Students. Current Population
  Reports, October 1999
• Vernez, G. , Abrahamse, A, and Quigley, D.
  (1996). How Immigrants Fare in U.S. Education.
  RAND MR-718-AMF)