International Family Migration and the Academic Achievement of 9th Grade Students in Mexico

Bryant Jensen, Brigham Young University
Silvia Giorguli-Saucedo, El Colegio de México
Eduardo Hernández, Instituto Nacional para la Evaluación de la Educación

Many children and youth in Mexico, especially those in rural settings, have parents and other relatives who have migrated to the US. Policies in Mexico and bilateral agreements address the wellbeing of these children, but little is known about how family migration shapes Mexican children’s schooling opportunities. Some studies have found that exposure to family migration improves the enrollment and educational attainment (i.e., years of schooling) of youth remaining behind whereas others have concluded the opposite. This study uniquely focuses on the academic achievement (i.e., performance on standardized tests) of Mexican children exposed to family migration. Using a nationally representative sample of 9th grade students in 2008 from, we explore how family migration is associated with academic risk, and to what extent family migration predicts academic performance above and beyond risk factors. We estimate multilevel models to analyze achievement variations and the effects of family migration at the individual, school and municipal levels.