The Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, based in Washington, D.C., compiled the following data on what it calls the “Crisis in Latino Education.” The council says its mission is “to improve educational outcomes for Hispanic children by empowering families through parental choice in education.” More information is available at the Web site www.hrcreo.org
What is the Crisis in Latino Education?
· One of every three Hispanic students fails to complete high school.
· 26 percent of Hispanic students in the 8th grade and 34 percent of Hispanic students in the 12th grade reported in 2000 that they had been absent three or more days in the preceding month.
· 13 percent of Hispanic students in kindergarten through 12th grade in 1999 had repeated a grade.
· The dropout rate for Hispanics in 2000 was 28 percent, higher than the 7 percent rate for Whites and the 13 percent rate for Blacks.
· Average scores among Hispanic 9-year-olds were 13 percent below Whites’ scores (a gap of 28 points in 1999, and among 17-year-olds they were 8 percent below Whites’ scores (a gap of 24 points).
· Math performance for Hispanic students was lower than that of White students in mathematics in 1999, but Hispanic 13- and 17-year-olds scored higher than Black 13- and 17-year-olds.
· Fifty-nine percent of Hispanics completed middle-level mathematics courses, 8 percent took low-level courses and 7 percent completed nonacademic or no mathematics courses.
· Hispanics scored below the national average on the SAT in 2001. Hispanics accounted for 9 percent of the SAT-taking population.
Sources:
U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Status and Trends in the Education of Hispanics.
