School segregation and academic achievement among Hispanic children

Although prior research suggests that Latino children of immigrants are segregated in lowincome, high-minority schools, no prior work has examined the eVects of race and class composition on Latino student’s academic achievement or the extent to which compositional eVects vary by generational status. We analyze the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data using hierarchical linear models. Academic achievement is measured by grade point average (GPA) and add health picture vocabulary test (AHPVT) score. We Wnd that socioeconomic composition of the school but not racial composition is an important predictor of AHPVT test scores of Latino adolescents. The Wndings vary by generational status in the case of GPA. School SES has a positive eVect and school minority composition has a negative eVect on grades only in the case of foreign-born Latinos. Although GPA and AHPVT scores vary signiWcantly by generational status and ethnicity, these achievement diVerences are better explained by family background than by variations in school composition. A possible reason, one which is supported by the results, is that high levels of social capital in immigrant families help buVer children from the disadvantages associated with the schools they attend. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.