Cross-Generational Differences in Educational Outcomes in the Second Great Wave of Immigration

Abstract

We use matched birth records and longitudinal student records in Florida to investigate whether first-, second-, and third-generation Asian and Hispanic immigrants have different educational success (measured by test scores, disciplinary problems, truancy, high school graduation, and college readiness). We find that, for both Asian and Hispanic students, early-arriving first generation immigrants perform better than do second-generation immigrants, who perform better than third-generation immigrants. The earlier the arrival, the better the students tend to perform. There is therefore a general pattern of successively reduced achievement in the generations following the generation that immigrated to the United States.