A Comment on: “ Goals and Gaps: Educational Careers of Immigrant Children” by Michela Carlana, Eliana La Ferrara, Paolo Pinotti

作者：Laura Giuliano · 发表于：Econometrica · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3982/ecta19383 · 被引用次数：24

AS IMMIGRATION TO OECD COUNTRIES has risen, the question of how to ensure the success of immigrant students has grown more critical. In Europe, the question is complicated by the common practice of tracking students at an early age into different types of schools. One concern is that immigrants may enroll in college preparatory tracks at lower rates than natives with similar achievement. The present study documents gaps in track choice among high-achieving immigrant students in Italy, and evaluates an intervention aimed at aligning the choices of these students with their academic potential. It thereby provides important evidence both on the education of immigrants and on educational tracking. In the United States, there are related debates about programs in which Black and Hispanic students are under-represented: for example, gifted education, advanced tracks within schools, and college prep coursework. These debates pit advocates of tracking and other policies, who extol the benefits of matching curriculum and instruction to levels of student ability, against critics who argue that tracking reinforces segregation and inequality. But the goals of the two sides are not always at odds. Segregation in tracking is often driven by factors unrelated to student ability—such as information barriers, implicit biases, or gaps in parental support and advocacy. Policies that remove these barriers and push capable students from disadvantaged groups to complete higher levels of education ...