The Extent and Consequences of Teacher Biases against Immigrants

Ellen Sahlström and Mikko Silliman ()
Additional contact information
Ellen Sahlström: Aalto University
Mikko Silliman: Aalto University

No 16899, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study the extent and consequences of biases against immigrants exhibited by high school teachers in Finland. Compared to native students, immigrant students receive 0.06 standard deviation units lower scores from teachers than from blind graders. This effect is almost entirely driven by grading penalties incurred by high-performing immigrant students and is largest in subjects where teachers have more discretion in grading. While teacher-assigned grades on the matriculation exam are not used for tertiary enrollment decisions, we show that immigrant students who attend schools with biased teachers are less likely to continue to higher education.

Keywords: immigrants; discrimination; teachers; education policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J15 J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 54 pages
Date: 2024-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-mig and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: The Extent and Consequences of Teacher Biases against Immigrants (2024)
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