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Ha'aretz, Israel
Feb 10 2008
Soviet immigrants outperform Israeli high-school peers
By Or Kashti
Children who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union
outperformed their Israeli-born counterparts in high-school
matriculation and college admission requirements, according to a
study carried out by Nir Fogel for the Central Bureau of Statistics.
The study also found that students from the western republics of the
Commonwealth of Independent States outperformed those from other
republics. Between 1990 and 2004, about 1.14 million people
immigrated from the CIS to Israel. Although these immigrants are
generally portrayed as a homogenous group, "there are considerable
social, economic and cultural differences among groups of
immigrants," said Fogel. For the purposes of this study, he divided
them into four groups by geographic origin, "based on geographic,
social and cultural considerations."
The study encompassed more than 94,000 immigrant students at all
grade levels, including about 11,000 12th-graders, during the
2003-2004 school year. It was published a few weeks ago as a CBS
working paper.
According to the study, 56.8 percent of Israeli-born students in the
Hebrew school system were eligible for matriculation, compared to
60.2 percent among the CIS immigrants. In the latter group, the
highest performance, 62.6 percent, was among pupils from the Western
republics (Russia, with the exception of the Caucasus, and Ukraine,
Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia). Immigrants from the
Asian republics (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan
and Kyrgyzstan) were next, with 57.7 percent eligible for a
matriculation certificate; followed by immigrants from Georgia and
Armenia, with 50.2 percent; and from the Caucasus (Azerbaijan and
southern Russia), with 41.9 percent.
The figures for university enrollment eligibility were similar, with
47.3 percent of native-born Israelis and 50.8 percent of CIS
immigrants meeting admission criteria.
The study determined that 73.5 percent of CIS immigrants who came to
Israel in the early 1990s were eligible for matriculation
certificates, compared to only 55.5 percent among more recent (four
years or less) immigrants.
Fogel points out in his paper, "The geographic distribution of the
immigrant [students] is not identical to and proportionate with that
of the veteran population." CIS-born students go to schools where
they represent, on average, 32 percent of all students, while the
average Israeli-born student goes to a school where only 9.8 percent
of the student body is immigrants.
Feb 10 2008
Soviet immigrants outperform Israeli high-school peers
By Or Kashti
Children who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union
outperformed their Israeli-born counterparts in high-school
matriculation and college admission requirements, according to a
study carried out by Nir Fogel for the Central Bureau of Statistics.
The study also found that students from the western republics of the
Commonwealth of Independent States outperformed those from other
republics. Between 1990 and 2004, about 1.14 million people
immigrated from the CIS to Israel. Although these immigrants are
generally portrayed as a homogenous group, "there are considerable
social, economic and cultural differences among groups of
immigrants," said Fogel. For the purposes of this study, he divided
them into four groups by geographic origin, "based on geographic,
social and cultural considerations."
The study encompassed more than 94,000 immigrant students at all
grade levels, including about 11,000 12th-graders, during the
2003-2004 school year. It was published a few weeks ago as a CBS
working paper.
According to the study, 56.8 percent of Israeli-born students in the
Hebrew school system were eligible for matriculation, compared to
60.2 percent among the CIS immigrants. In the latter group, the
highest performance, 62.6 percent, was among pupils from the Western
republics (Russia, with the exception of the Caucasus, and Ukraine,
Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia). Immigrants from the
Asian republics (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan
and Kyrgyzstan) were next, with 57.7 percent eligible for a
matriculation certificate; followed by immigrants from Georgia and
Armenia, with 50.2 percent; and from the Caucasus (Azerbaijan and
southern Russia), with 41.9 percent.
The figures for university enrollment eligibility were similar, with
47.3 percent of native-born Israelis and 50.8 percent of CIS
immigrants meeting admission criteria.
The study determined that 73.5 percent of CIS immigrants who came to
Israel in the early 1990s were eligible for matriculation
certificates, compared to only 55.5 percent among more recent (four
years or less) immigrants.
Fogel points out in his paper, "The geographic distribution of the
immigrant [students] is not identical to and proportionate with that
of the veteran population." CIS-born students go to schools where
they represent, on average, 32 percent of all students, while the
average Israeli-born student goes to a school where only 9.8 percent
of the student body is immigrants.