A new report highlights that students’ performance in reading is significantly influenced by the language primarily spoken at home. The Ministry of Children and Education has published this insight based on the report “Pisa Ethnic”, prepared by Vive for the ministry. The report specifically focuses on students with an immigrant background and reveals that these students perform worse in reading, mathematics, and science compared to their peers without an immigrant background. According to the report, 40 percent of students with an immigrant background score low in reading, while the same only applies to 16 percent of students without an immigrant background. Minister of Children and Education, Mattias Tesfaye (Social Democrats), describes the situation as concerning and emphasizes the need to address the problem.
The report also highlights that socio-economic factors play a significant role in students’ performances. More than half of Danish students with an immigrant background come from economically disadvantaged homes and primarily speak a language other than Danish at home. This supports the conclusion that both socio-economic status and the language spoken at home have a considerable influence on children’s skills. From 2018 onwards, according to the report, there has been a decline in the average level of reading and mathematics among students both with and without an immigrant background. However, results in science have remained stable.
Nevertheless, students with an immigrant background still perform worse in both mathematics and science than their peers without an immigrant background. This trend is not unique to Denmark. Similar patterns can be seen in other Nordic countries, where students with an immigrant background also struggle in the mentioned subject areas. The study, conducted in 2022, includes responses from 7,800 Danish 15-year-old youths from 347 educational institutions, of which 10.7 percent have an immigrant background. These students have parents who were both born outside of Denmark.