Educating the Children of Immigrants in the United States

Nearly one-quarter of youth under that age of 18 in the United States live in immigrant families, and this group is among the fastest growing segments of the US child population. This chapter summarizes the research on the demographic and educational experiences of children in these families, which suggests that they face many obstacles to achievement (such as poverty), but that they perform at high levels when compared with demographically similar children of US-born parents. In addition to presenting the findings from a national perspective, the chapter profiles the educational outcomes of foreign-born students in the state of Florida, which is home to the fourth largest population of immigrant youth in the country. The chapter also describes current federal education policies that affect immigrant children, and discuss implications for policymakers.