The Academic Success of East-Asian–American Students-An Investment Model

Previous empirical studies have long noted the existence of an “Asian effect” on students' math and science performance. Yet, few studies have developed a conceptual model that explains why Asian-American students outperform students from other race-ethnic backgrounds. In this study, I incorporate the concepts of financial, human, cultural, and social capital into an investment model to study racial differences in educational performance. Analyses of a nationally representative sample of 8th grade students have indicated that families from East-Asian origins invest more aggressively in financial, human, and within-family social capital than families from other racial groups, even after social and demographic controls are taken into consideration. These differences in investment explain a large portion of the Asian effect. In addition, half of the investment measures examined yield a greater educational return for East-Asian students than for students of other racial groups. Overall, the analyses have demonstrated that the investment model is an attractive approach to study the Asian effect.