There are substantial differences in academic outcomes among country of origin groups. These differences start very early on and (even when lessened) often persist. In a nationally representative sample of third graders Glick and Hohmann-Marriott (2007) show that while children of Chinese, Vietnamese and East Asian immigrants outperform their native White peers in math, children from Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Filipino families fall behind.
Recent research points to the role of community structure and functioning in producing these differences. Min Zhou, who has spent her carreer studying immigrant communities from Vietnamese communities in New Orleans to Mexican and Chinese communities in California, finds consistent and powerful differences in the ways that these communities function and the knowledge bases that they hold.
While both the Pico Union and Chinatown neighborhoods of Los Angelos have a predominantly immigrant populace and a share a strong emphasis on education the families of Chinatown benefit from deep wells of community knowledge about educational systems (what SAT scores kids need to get into college, what schools are the best in the district) as well as high numbers of ethnic-based educational organizations (afterschool tutoring programs, enrichment programs and community scholarship funds.) The Pico Union (primarily Mexican immigrants) neighborhood, on the other, does not have a single community driven enrichment program and thus lacks avenues through which new immigrant families can learn pathways toward higher education and support them in their children.
Zhou notes, ""In the past, we've tended to chalk up differences in achievement to cultural differences, but we really need to look more closely at variations in neighborhood resources and how they may contribute to academic success."
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