UPenn researchers say Md. must do more to help poor, minority students complete college - baltimoresun.com: Despite its exemplary commitment to higher education, Maryland must do a better job helping black, Hispanic and lower-income students succeed in college, says a report released Friday by University of Pennsylvania researchers.
"Although the state has recognized the problem of disparities," write Penn professors Laura Perna and Joni Finney, "Maryland lacks a coherent set of public policies to ensure that more children are prepared for, attend and complete college."
The study notes that only 33 percent of the state's black residents and 20 percent of its Hispanic residents between the ages of 25 and 34 hold at least an associate's degree, compared with 51 percent of white Marylanders in the same demographic. Only 29.5 percent of adults in Baltimore hold at least an associate's degree.
Perna and Finney warn that given the state's demographic trends — especially the rise of its Hispanic population — Maryland must improve on these figures if it is to have any hope of meeting Gov. Martin O'Malley's goal of 55 percent college completion by 2025.
