More interestingly, when high school/academic engagement in classes was studied for international and domestic students, there was almost no difference between both groups, which suggests that the idea that American high schools did not prepare their students for higher education compared to high schools in other countries is false. Considering that this idea has perpetuated the negative stereotype of international students in American colleges, it suggests that the issue of difficulties suffered by international students is based on difficulties that the institutions and teachers may not be properly addressing.

Some Implications of International vs Domestic Students

When comparing the international versus domestic students in college/academic engagement in classes, international students showed more signs of being involved in classes compared to domestic students. Looking at the subgroups, international students who spoke English showed results that suggested that they were more engaged in high school compared to international students who were only learning English. 

University of California, Berkeley

Looking broadly at the two groups of domestic and international students, the results of the study indicate that, in terms of academic, college readiness, domestic students were far more ready than international students for American colleges. Considering that a large part of academic readiness involved knowledge of the English language and experience with American schools, domestic students would naturally have the advantage. When it came to cultural readiness of going to college, there were little differences between domestic and international students.

Results of the Readiness Study

Lee, J., Kim, N. & Wu, Y. College readiness and engagement gaps between domestic and international students: re-envisioning educational diversity and equity for global campus. High Educ 77, 505–523 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0284-8

College readiness and engagement gaps between domestic and international students: re-envisioning educational diversity and equity for global campus

Looking into the subgroups of both international and domestic students, for both college readiness and being prepared for a cultural shift in American colleges, the English speaker students (both international and domestic) were more ready in both aspects compared to English learner students. In addition, when it came to being ready, international and domestic students who spoke English fluently were similarly prepared while international students still learning English lagged behind compared to the domestic students who were learning English. 

Subgroup Results of the Readiness Study

Academic Engagement in Readiness Study

When we consider variables such as the groups to be studied and compared for achievement gap studies, the idea of subgroups within each student category should be considered. This article took note of the differences within the two groups of international and domestic students. Each student has their own background and unique demographics that can lead to differences in academic achievement that can be found not only in comparing two or more groups against each other but within each group that can provide further understanding as to the nature of the achievement gap that is present. 

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