"This report makes it clear that our education system must match the high aspirations Hispanic families have for their children with high quality K–12 programs that ensure career and college readiness," stated Deborah Santiago, Excelencia in Education's chief operating officer and vice president for policy.
Careers in the sciences, in teaching or in many creative fields begin with a college education. However, to access college, students must be ready to contend. Hispanic students are not: While 83 percent of Hispanic students aspire to earn a post secondary degree, less than one-quarter are academically prepared to meet that goal, says a joint report released by ACT and Excelencia in Education.
"The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2013: Hispanic Students," published June 12, shows that only 24 percent of ACT-tested Hispanic students who graduated from high school in 2013 met at least three of the four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. That's compared to 39 percent of all ACT-tested 2013 graduates. Also, nearly half (46 percent) of Hispanic students met none of the benchmarks, compared to 31 percent of all students.
This lack of preparedness is more concerning considering that the U.S. Hispanic population is growing. It hit 53 million in 2012, representing 17 percent of all Americans. Since 2009, the number of Hispanic students taking the ACT has nearly doubled, increasing by approximately 126,000. But that's not translating into college success: Hispanics would have to earn 5.5 million more college degrees by 2020 for America to regain its worldwide lead in college degree attainment, said Deborah Santiago, Excelencia in Education's chief operating officer and vice president for policy.
