- Latinos in Preschool
- Latinos in Elementary School
- Latinos in Secondary School
- Latinos
in College
- Hispanic
Diaspora
Latinos in School: Some Facts
and Findings
LATINOS
IN SECONDARY SCHOOL
- Latinos
in grades 9-12 constitute 13 percent of the school population. By 2030,
they are expected to comprise 23 percent of the population.
- More than
one-third of Latinos age 15 to 17 are enrolled below grade level, an
unfortunately large number given the fact that enrollment below grade
level is the highest predictor of dropping out.
- The average
1996 NAEP scores for Hispanic students age 17 were well below those
of their Anglo peers in reading, mathematics, and science.
- Latino students
earn more credits in computer science, foreign languages, and English
than other groups; and fewer credits than other groups in history, science,
and mathematics.
- The percentage
of Latino seniors planning to attend a four-year college doubled from
24 percent in 1972 to 50 percent in 1992. The percentage intending to
attend a two-year program increased from 12 to 20 percent.
- Latino students
are at least three times as likely to take a foreign language Advanced
Placement (AP) examination as Anglos, and five times as likely as Anglos
to be eligible for college credit from these tests. (Anglo students
are, though, more likely than both Latinos or African Americans to take
AP examinations in all other subject areas.)
- Only 35
percent of Latino students are enrolled in college preparatory or academic
programs that provide access to four-year colleges or rigorous technical
schools, as compared with 43 percent of African Americans and 50 percent
of Anglos.
- Moreover,
Latino students are more frequently tracked into general courses that
satisfy only the basic requirements: 50 percent are enrolled in general
programs, as compared with 40 percent of African Americans and 39 percent
of Anglos.
- The high
school completion rate for Latinos has remained steady over several
years: only 63 percent, as compared with 81 percent for African Americans
and 90 percent for Anglos.
- The dropout
rate for Latinos is much higher than for other groups: in 1998, 30 percent
of all Latino 16- through 24-years-old (1.5 million) were dropouts,
whereas the dropout rate was 14 percent for African Americans and 8
percent for Anglos.
- The high
Latino dropout rate is partly attributable to the relatively greater
dropout rate for Hispanic immigrants: 44 percent, as compared with 21
percent for the U.S.-born.
- The high
school completion rate for Latino parents is increasing, but remains
low. Up from 23 percent in 1972 to 45 percent in 1997. However, the
completion rate for Latino parents still lags well below the rate for
Anglos (90 percent). Parental high school completion is an important
factor in the educational attainment of their children.
- Next
Latinos in College
- Back Latinos in Elementary School
- Latinos
in Preschool
SOURCE
Latinos in education: Early childhood, elementary, secondary, undergraduate,
graduate. (1999). Washington, DC: The White House Initiative on Educational
Excellence for Hispanic Americans. (ED 440 817) ERIC Clearinghouse on
Urban Education Publication Date: 2001-02-00
