Hispanic students behind in college preparedness - The Deming Headlight: IOWA CITY, IOWA AND WASHINGTON, D.C. >> Although 83 percent of Hispanic students aspire to earn a postsecondary degree, just under a fourth are academically prepared to reach that goal, according to a new report released today by ACT and Excelencia in Education.
The joint report, The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2013: Hispanic Students, shows that 24 percent of ACT-tested Hispanic 2013 high school graduates in the United States met at least three of the four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, which is lower than the 39 percent of all ACT-tested 2013 graduates who did so.
Similarly, almost half—46 percent—of Hispanic students did not meet any of the four benchmarks, compared to 31 percent of all students.
These findings are particularly timely and relevant, as the number of Hispanics in the U.S. has grown dramatically in the past few years.
• The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Hispanics represented 17 percent (53 million) of the U.S. population in 2012 and are projected to represent 31 percent of the population by 2060.
• According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 25 percent of all children under the age of five are Hispanic, and 23 percent of students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in public schools are Hispanic.
• This increased representation is reflected in ACT test takers as well. Since 2009, the number of Hispanic students taking the ACT has nearly doubled, increasing by approximately 126,000 students.
