Immigrant concentration and student outcomes in upper secondary schools: Norwegian evidence

Abstract:

We analyse the effects of immigrant concentration on two measures of native students’ outcomes in upper secondary schools in Norway, completion and exam grades. Administrative data for full cohorts of new students 2002–2008 are employed. To take into account potential selection effects, we rely mainly on models with fixed school and educational programme effects.

The analyses present a consistent picture: Immigrant concentration seems to have no effect on either school completion or grades. Sensitivity analyses provide further evidence that these results hold across subsamples and when various methodological problems are addressed. Our results do not lend support to policies aimed to redistribute immigrants’ students more evenly across schools.