2003:23 R

What significance does a foreign background have for results on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test? II

These results show that there are clear differences in the test scores of various groups. The highest scores are attained by those born in Sweden who have at least one parent born in Sweden and on the whole the lowest scores are achieved by those who have immigrated into Sweden with at least one parent born abroad or who have come to Sweden but both of whose parents were born in Sweden (the adoptee group). The only exception from these trends can be found in the English reading comprehension test, in which those with parents of foreign origin outdo those born in Sweden who have at least one parent of Swedish origin. In addition, the results show that testees of foreign origin who came to Sweden at the age of 10 or later consistently attain lower scores than those who arrived earlier.

The discrepancies in test scores that can be determined in groups of different immigrant status cannot be ascribed to advantages given to certain groups by the contents of some specific items in the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Instead the differences should be attributed to the more general abilities measured by the various subtests and by the test overall. This means that considerably more thoroughgoing changes than the mere modification of specific items in the test will be required to deal with the links between test scores and immigrant status.

Judging from the results, it is primarily skills in the use of Swedish and awareness of conditions in Sweden that are the main source of the discrepancies. Support for this can be found in the fact that the English reading comprehension test is the only subtest that is not in Swedish or that refers to Swedish circumstances. Additional support can be found in the significantly enhanced performance of immigrants who arrived in Sweden while still young compared with those who came later.