Country of Origin IQ and Muslim Percentage Predict Grade Point Average in School among 116 Immigrant Groups in Denmark

Abstract

Immigrants to Western countries typically have worse social outcomes than natives, but country of origin immigrant groups differ widely. We studied school performance in Denmark for 116 immigrant groups measured by the grade point average (GPA) of the 9th grade exam at the end of compulsory schooling. General intelligence is a strong causal factor of school outcomes and life outcomes in general for individuals. We accordingly predicted that country of origin average intelligence (national IQ) will predict immigrant group outcomes. We furthermore included as covariates immigrant generation (first vs. second) as well as the Muslim percentage of country of origin. Results show that GPA in Denmark can be predicted by national IQ r = .47 (n = 81), Muslim percentage r = -.40 (n = 81), and educational selectivity of immigrants entering Denmark r = .35 (n = 71). Regression modeling indicated that each predictor is informative when combined. The final model explained 46.3% of the variance with first generation (binary) β = -0.65, βIQ = 0.29, βMuslim = -0.21, and β education selectivity index = 0.27 (all predictors p < .001, n = 97). Our results are in line with existing research on cognitive stratification and immigration.