Education

Relatively soon after the Immigration Act of 1924 was passed, the popularity of using racial theories of intelligence as guideposts to immigration law and policy waned.

The psychological work with the closest influence on later immigration policy was performed by Robert Yerkes of Harvard University.

The nascent science of intelligence testing developed in confluence with growing support for more severe controls on the acceptance of foreign-born entrants to the United States.

The Immigration Act of 1917 was the first federal law to impose a general restriction on immigration in the form of a literacy test.

Hull-House provided numerous services for the poor, many of whom were immigrants, that helped immigrants to learn about American culture and life.

International scholars and students have made great contributions to the United States—economically, in helping to advance science and technology, and in increasing international understanding.

A notable scholar of semantics, Hayakawa also had a political career. He represented California in the U.S. Senate, where he launched a movement to establish English as the official language of the United States by introducing the English Language Amendment in 1981.

Exchange students undertake formal studies at postsecondary institutions to increase their cultural exposure, expand their learning opportunities, and improve their language skills.

As an instructional tool to help language-minority students develop English-language skills, the English as a second language program came into popular usage during the late 1950’s.

Schools are important sociopolitical entities within American communities. As such, they are a key arena where conflicting views about immigrants regarding identity, linguistic and cultural diversity, assimilation, accommodation, and other issues play themselves out.

The passage of this law indicated that U.S. immigration policies could be influenced by domestic political developments of other countries.