A paper released by Formar Foundation claims that many socio-economic issues, such as low poverty levels, lack of language skills, and other social barriers, have a negative effect on the quality of education among Latinos in the United States, widening the gap for educational achievement.
The research reports that Latino students are less likely to be enrolled in childhood learning and kindergarten programs nationwide, and their high school graduation rates reach 65.9% compared to the national rate of 75.5%. These students are more likely to attend public schools that are larger, more minority-heavy, and of lower quality.
According to the literature, educational achievement is very much dependent on other risk factors rooted in the individual, household, and state level contexts, which include parents’ educational attainment, poverty rates, and the language used at home.
Over the past two decades, there have been efforts to improve Latino student performances through targeted programs and seeking system-wide improvements. Such tactics include introducing English language skills program to Latino communities, providing scholarships for students, supplying mentoring activities, and encouraging enrollment in early childhood programs.
“Much more must be done if we are to turn the trends around—and not only by organizations who serve Latinos as their primary mission,” says Jaime Merisotis, CEO and President of Lumina Foundation. “Our collective economic and social well-being will be shaped and driven by the educational success of Latinos.”
The paper can be downloaded in this Huffington Post article.
[…] change may be due to increased English language programs to Latino communities, or providing more scholarships to […]