Students In Schools With High Numbers Of Migrants Get Lower Test Scores

Students in schools with high numbers of migrants tend to get lower test scores, a new report has claimed.

Large numbers of migrants can lead to higher dropout rates, worse results and cause wealthier families to move to different neighbourhoods.

The report by Aarhus University in Denmark looked at several studies in Western nations, including England and the U.S., and found that while migrant children from high-income backgrounds do not cause problems, those from low-income backgrounds can have a negative effect on native children.

In one study in Denmark, researchers found that high concentrations of immigrant children in schools negatively affects test scores of 15-year-old native Danish children, especially in mathematics.

Another study in Israel found that increase numbers of migrant students in classrooms has a negative effect on native children passing the state’s high school matriculation programme, while a similar result was also found in a Norwegian study.

The authors also say that recent evidence from the US shows “an increase in the share of immigrant students in high schools has a small negative effect on the high school completion rate of native students”.

Large numbers of immigrant children can also lead to “white flight”, with wealthier native families moving out of the area and only the poorest left behind.

“Many of these children do not speak the language of the host country as their first language; they are often of different religion and ethnicity than native children; and their parents are relatively poorly educated,” the authors said.

“This has raised concerns that sending native children to schools with a high share of immigrant children may harm the educational performance of native children.”

Having large numbers of migrant children in class who do not speak the native language also means that teachers have to divert more attention to them.

“Since immigrant children typically have a poorer command of the host country language, the teacher may need to spend more class time providing individual assistance.

“The teacher may also slow the pace of instruction to accommodate immigrant children with limited language proficiency or a weak educational background.

“As a result, the teacher may cover less of the curriculum than the class would otherwise have covered.”

Breitbart London reported last month that Britain will need to build 1,600 new primary schools to cope with the increasing demand from migrant families. Analysis by the New Schools Network showed that mass immigration has increased the demand for school places by 160 per cent in just five years.

Nick Timothy, the group’s director, said: “There will also soon be a knock-on effect on secondary school places where already three-quarters of the local authorities with the highest levels of net migration are in desperate need of new places.”

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