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The Biracial Asian-American Advantage at School Entry

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin G. Gibbs

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Jonathan A. Jarvis

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Lance D. Erickson

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

  • Lear Burton

    (Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA)

  • Can Cheng

    (Independent Researcher, Beijing, China)

  • Carol Ward

    (Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

Abstract

Asian-American students have some of the highest scores for standardized tests in American schools—a pattern that is commonly attributed to immigrant selectivity. We extend this line of inquiry by examining mixed-race couples and their children. Using both the ECLS-K cohorts of 1998 and 2010, we document the persistence of the Asian-American educational advantage over time by comparing the math and reading scores of white students (1998 n = 6700; 2010 n = 4500) with Asian-American (1998 n = 500; 2010 n = 600) and biracial Asian/white (1998 n = 150; 2010 n = 150) students at the start of elementary school. Surprisingly, in bivariate models, biracial Asian/white students have some of the highest math and reading scores. Socioeconomic factors are an important part of this advantage. When we examine parenting practices, we find that parenting works in opposite directions for biracial and monoracial Asian couples—decreasing the size of the biracial Asian/white educational advantage but increasing the size of the Asian-American advantage compared with their white kindergartener peers at school entry.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin G. Gibbs & Jonathan A. Jarvis & Lance D. Erickson & Lear Burton & Can Cheng & Carol Ward, 2024. "The Biracial Asian-American Advantage at School Entry," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-23, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:12:p:680-:d:1545072
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Suet‐ling Pong & Lingxin Hao & Erica Gardner, 2005. "The Roles of Parenting Styles and Social Capital in the School Performance of Immigrant Asian and Hispanic Adolescents," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 86(4), pages 928-950, December.
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