OPTIMISM AND ACHIEVEMENT - THE EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF IMMIGRANT YOUTH

Objective. The rise in the volume and diversity of immigrants to the U nited States since 1960 has increased concerns about whether assimilat ion benefits educational achievement. This issue is addressed by evalu ating the relative merits of three hypotheses regarding generational s tatus and scholastic performance: (1) straight-line assimilation; (2) accommodation without assimilation; and (3) immigrant optimism. Method s. The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 is used to examin e the impact of generational status on three indicators of educational achievement: grades, achievement test scores, and college aspirations of eighth graders. Results. Overall, the results are consistent with hypotheses (2) and (3) and suggest that behavioral differences between immigrant and native parents are essential ingredients in explaining the differential performance of immigrant and native youth. However, t he effects of generational status on scholastic outcomes differ by rac e and ethnic group, such that parental nativity is most crucial for As ians and less so for Hispanics, while child's birthplace is more decis ive for educational achievement among blacks. Conclusions. Because for eign-born youth are at a slight disadvantage due to their limited Engl ish skills and because immigrant parents promote academic achievement, second generation youth (i.e., native-born children of foreign-born p arents) are best positioned to achieve scholastically.