Does Isolation from Immigrant Students Benefit or Harm Third-Plus Generation Students? - Abstract

Oct 15, 2026

Enforcing and expanding immigration restrictions has been central to the Trump administration since January 2017, based on the premise that immigrants harm U.S. citizens by consuming disproportionate social benefits. Using 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data in U.S. high school contexts, the study tests this claim by examining mathematics achievement of third-plus-generation students who did not attend schools with immigrant students. Students not exposed to first- or second-generation immigrant peers show lower average achievement, informing research and policy implications.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University Volume 27 Number 76 June 24, 2019 ISSN 1068-2341 Does Isolation from Immigrant Students Benefit or Harm Third-Plus Generation Students? Margarita Pivovarova & Jeanne M. Powers1 Arizona State University United States Citation: Pivovarova, M., & Powers, J. M. (2019) . Does isolation from immigrant students benefit or harm third-plus generation students? Education Policy Analysis Archives, 27(76) . [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.27.4349](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.27.4349) Abstract: Enforcing and expanding immigration restrictions have been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s agenda since his inauguration in January 2017. Underlying these policies is an assumption that immigrants harm U.S. citizens. More specifically, both authorized and undocumented immigrants are framed as consuming a disproportionate share of social benefits. We used data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to assess this claim in U.S. high school contexts, focusing on the mathematics achievement of third-plus generation students who did not attend schools with immigrant students. On average, the third-plus-generation students who did not attend schools that enrolled first or second generation immigrant students had lower 1 Both authors contributed equally to this article and are listed alphabetically. Direct correspondence to Jeanne M. Powers ([jeanne.powers@asu.edu](jeanne.powers@asu.edu)) Journal website: [http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ ](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ Manuscript)[ Manuscript](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ Manuscript) received: 11/12/2018 Facebook: /EPAAA Revisions received: 1/16/2019 Twitter: @epaa_aape Accepted: 1/16/2019 Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 27 No. 76 2 achievement than their same generation peers attending schools that served immigrant students. We conclude by highlighting the research and policy implications of our findings. Keywords: immigrants; achievement; school context; immigration policy ¿El aislamiento de estudiantes inmigrantes beneficia o perjudica a los estudiantes de tercera generación? Resumen: Reforzar y expandir las restricciones a la inmigración ha estado en la línea de frente de la agenda del gobierno Trump desde su posesión en enero de 2017. Subyacente aesas políticas está la suposición de que los inmigrantes perjudican a los ciudadanos de Estados Unidos. Más específicamente, tanto inmigrantes autorizados como indocumentados son encuadrados como consumiendo una parte desproporcionada de beneficios sociales. Utilizamos datos del Programa de Evaluación Internacional de Estudiantes (PISA) de 2012 para evaluar esta afirmación en los contextos de la enseñanza media de los Estados Unidos, concentrándose en el aprovechamiento de matemáticas dealumnos con más de una generación que no asistieron a escuelas con alumnos inmigrantes. En promedio, los alumnos de tercera generación, que no asistieron a escuelas quematricularon a estudiantes inmigrantes de primera o segunda generación, tuvieron un desempeño inferior al de sus colegas de la misma generación que frecuentaban escuelas que atendían a estudiantes inmigrantes. Concluimos destacando la investigación y las implicaciones políticas de nuestros descubrimientos. Palabras-clave: inmigrantes; logro; contexto escolar; política de inmigración O isolamento de estudantes imigrantes beneficia ou prejudica estudantes deterceira geração? Resumo: Reforçar e expandir as restrições à imigração tem estado na linha de frente da agenda do governo Trump desde sua posse em janeiro de 2017. Subjacente a essas políticasestá a suposição de que os imigrantes prejudicam os cidadãos dos EUA. Maisespecificamente, tanto imigrantes autorizados quanto indocumentados são enquadrados como consumindo uma parcela desproporcional de benefícios sociais. Usamos dados do Programa de Avaliação Inte

FAQs

What policy assumption does the study address about immigration restrictions?

It addresses the assumption that immigrants harm U.S. citizens by consuming a disproportionate share of social benefits.

How does the study evaluate the claim using PISA data?

It uses 2012 PISA data for U.S. high school contexts and focuses on mathematics achievement of third-plus-generation students not attending schools with immigrant students.

What does the study conclude about third-plus-generation students who are isolated from immigrant students?

On average, these students have lower mathematics achievement than peers in schools that include first- or second-generation immigrant students.

Oct 15, 2026

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