According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Education, Latino high school students graduated at a rate of 71% in 2010, a jump from 61% in 2006.
The report also details the rate of high school graduates according to other nationalities: Asian students graduate at the highest rate at 93%; white students graduate at a rate of 83%; and African American students graduate at the lowest rate at 66%.
“The new NCES report is good news,” says Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education. “It’s promising that high school graduation rates are up for all ethnic groups in 2010 – especially for Hispanics, whose graduation rate has jumped almost 10 points since 2006.”
As previously reported on La Plaza, there have been efforts during the last two decades to improve Latino student performances. Such tactics include “introducing English language skills programs to Latino communities, providing scholarships for students, supplying mentoring activities, and encouraging enrollment in early childhood programs.”
Jack Buckley, Commissioner for the National Center for Education Statistics, believes that the scores may have improved because Latino students are doing better and because more people are identifying themselves as Latino.
Buckley also believes that the economy may be another reason why there are improved scores.
“One thing that we see across the country in general is that graduation rates goes up when the economy goes down,” says Buckley. “If you drop out of high school, how many good jobs are there out there for you? None. That wasn’t true 10 or 15 years ago.”
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