Undermatched? School-based Linguistic Status, College Going, and the Immigrant Advantage
Rebecca M Callahan1, Melissa H Humphries2
1University of Texas at Austin.
American Educational Research Journal
|April 9, 2016
Summary
The immigrant advantage in college enrollment is limited to non-English learner students. High-achieving English learner (EL) students experience undermatching, potentially hindering their college pathways.
Area of Science:
- Sociology of Education
- Educational Policy
- Immigration Studies
Background:
- The "immigrant advantage" in education is well-researched, but the role of school-based linguistic status is understudied.
- Existing research presents conflicting findings on immigrant college enrollment, showing both advantages and disadvantages for language minorities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between immigrant status, linguistic categorization in U.S. schools, and college-going rates.
- To examine how different linguistic statuses (native English speakers, language minorities not in ESL, English learners) influence post-secondary educational pathways for immigrants.
Main Methods:
- Utilized multivariate statistical methods to analyze data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002.
- Examined college-going patterns among immigrant youth categorized by their linguistic status within the school system.
Main Results:
- An immigrant advantage in college enrollment was observed exclusively among immigrant groups not classified as English learners (ELs).
- Evidence of "undermatching" was found among high-achieving EL students, indicating they enroll in less selective institutions than their academic profiles suggest.
Conclusions:
- School-based linguistic status significantly moderates the immigrant advantage in college going.
- Addressing undermatching among high-achieving EL students is crucial for improving their college access and preventing human capital loss.
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