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The Extent and Consequences of Teacher Biases against Immigrants

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  • Ellen Sahlström
  • Mikko Silliman

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Ellen Sahlström & Mikko Silliman, 2024. "The Extent and Consequences of Teacher Biases against Immigrants," CESifo Working Paper Series 11050, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11050
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigrants; discrimination; teachers; education policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy

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