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Sociocultural Correlates of Achievement Among Three Generations of Mexican American High School Seniors

The present investigation examines the relationship of Spanish language background to achievement among first-, second-, and third-generation Mexican American high school seniors. The effects of students’ and mothers’ aspirations were also examined. The data used in this study were from the first phase of the High School and Beyond (Jones et al., 1982) study. Achievement measures included standardized tests of math, reading, and English vocabulary. Four Spanish language variables were also included. These were as follows: mother tongue, home language, oral proficiency in Spanish, and Spanish literacy. Socioeconomic background variables included both father’s and mother’s education and family income. Consistent with previous research, students’ aspirations showed the strongest positive relationship to achievement for all generational groups. Although Spanish language background showed practically no relationship to achievement for first- and second-generation students, the linguistic variables showed mixed effects for third-generation students. In general, Spanish language effects on achievement were minimal, thus arguing against the position that Spanish impedes the academic achievement of Hispanic students.