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.