A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Center for Research on the Education of Disadvantaged Students (CDS)

Project #7126: The Adaptation of Immigrant Children in the American Educational System

Project Description: The Adaptation of Immigrant Children in the American Educational System proposed to conduct three waves of data collection with immigrant children from 6 nationalities in the metropolitan areas of Miami and San Diego. This project proposed to interview high school students in this survey and track their progress across a 5-year period. The survey was to examine the adaptation experiences, present situation, and prospects for the future of second-generation immigrants in the U.S. by conducting a survey of foreign-born children or children brought to the U.S. before school age with a focus on their family histories, school achievements, patterns of social relationships, and career plans. Due to lack of NSF funding, the survey was not conducted. The project conducted analyses of school district data in Dade County and in San Diego, CA..

Project Director: McPartland, James M.

Institution: Johns Hopkins University

List of Selected Publications

Statement of Finding(s): Limited English Proficient adolescents in middle and high schools in Dade County FL and in San Diego, CA, in general, evidence low academic achievement and high dropout rates. However, students who maintained their cultural identities as they accommodated to their new environments were more successful.

Description of Finding(s): In Dade County, FL, LEP students had lower levels of academic performance and dropped out more frequently than others students. In the San Diego public schools, LEP and FEP students scored below their Anglo peers in reading and vocabulary achievement tests. However, there were differences among language groups -- East Asians and Southeast Asians had higher scores in math than Hispanics and Pacific Islanders. Hispanics scored higher in reading than all other language groups expect East Indians and Filipinos.

Are data from the study available? No

Project Director: Portes, Alejandro

Institution: Johns Hopkins University, Department of Sociology; Charles & 34th Streets, Baltimore, MD 21218

PHONE: (410) 516-7627

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