Try a thought experiment: Consider immigrants in the U.S. from Algeria, Israel and Japan and rank them, from highest to lowest, by educational attainment. Here’s the correct order, according to data from the Census Bureau: Algerians have average schooling of 14.7 years, followed by Israelis with 14.5 years, and Japanese with 14.3.

Surprised? Consider an additional fact: Algerians represent about 1 in 2,500 immigrants in the U.S., whereas Israelis are 1 in 350 and Japanese 1 in 100.

Here’s another counterintuitive result: The average educational level in Mexico, 8.5 years, is almost twice that of India, 4.4 years. Yet Indian immigrants in the U.S. average 16 years of schooling, whereas Mexican immigrants average nine years.

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