– On average, immigrant students have significantly higher rates entering and persisting in STEM fields compared to their native counterparts.
– The immigrant attainment advantage is particularly large among first-generation Asian and white immigrant students who attended foreign K-12 schools.
– The immigrant STEM advantage is largely due to better academic preparation in math and science in high school. This indicates that improvements in students’ college STEM attainment may depend crucially on policy efforts devoted to strengthening the quality of high school math and science education.
– The immigrant-native gaps appear to be declining with immigrant generational status.
– Immigrant students are more likely to have taken advanced math courses than natives.
– The immigrant-native STEM achievement gap is not primarily due to different motivations and preferences between immigrant students and native students.
– For first-generation immigrants, approximately 23% of the immigrant-native difference in STEM entry is due to variation in socioeconomic characteristics and individual preferences.