Learning in school or because of school? Migration gaps in achievement and the role of schools

This study examines whether schools help reduce educational gaps between children from immigrant and native families in Germany. Using data from first-grade students, researchers separated learning gains into two parts: gains from attending school and gains from simply being older. The findings show that while schools do help children learn, they do not reduce inequality between groups. Children from non-Western immigrant families, who start behind, gain less from schooling than other children, meaning schools are not working to close migration-related achievement gaps.

Key points

• Schools provide learning benefits to all children, but this benefit is not equally distributed
• Children from non-Western immigrant families show lower learning rates over the school year compared to other immigrant groups
• The lower progress of non-Western immigrant children is entirely explained by lower benefits they receive from school exposure
• German primary schools do not function as engines of integration for immigrant groups with the largest educational disadvantages
• The study used a nationally representative sample from the National Educational Panel Study

Limitations

The study focuses only on first-grade students in Germany, so findings may not apply to other grade levels, countries, or longer-term outcomes. The research cannot explain why schools provide differential benefits to different groups or identify specific school factors responsible for these gaps.