It's no secret that Latino students are struggling academically to compete with their counterparts. According to the group Excelencia in Education, 21% of Hispanics in America hold an associate's degree or higher. This number is significantly less than males in other groups, such as African Americans (30%) and Whites (44%).
This trend holds across age groups as well, demonstrating the cross-generational nature of the challenge. 8% of Latinos who are 18-24 years of age have earned some form of advanced degree, compared with 14% of all young adults. For adults over the age of 25, Whites earn advanced degrees at twice the rate of Hispanics, and Asians are nearly three times as likely to hold a degrees.
Several reports indicate unique difficulties for Latinos that come into play when completing a degree. They particularly struggle with their socioeconomic status. Not only is there a lack of financial resources for Latino students, but the need for all family members to work in order to support their families tends to hinder their opportunities for continuing education. Data shows, in reports such as the College Board's report on the educational experience of men of color, that Latina women have consistently higher graduation rates than their male counterparts. In large part, this reverts back to the unique culture of the Latino community and their commitment to family, in which Latino males are more willing and face greater expectations that they will sacrifice school and other personal ambition in order to assist their families.
Parents of would-be college students have a strong impact on their children's attendance and graduation rate. Only 54% of students whose parents never went to college enrolled in college after high school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. If the parents hadn't finished high school, only 36% of students enrolled. It is clear that the educational attainment of previous generations of Hispanics play a large role in their children's lower college graduation rates.
Low rates of Latino students attending college, and finishing college, is one of the greatest challenges facing this community. But the problem starts earlier, with the low quality of high school education that Hispanics often receive. Studies show that Latinos who attend schools with a larger number of minority students, in poorer neighborhoods, tend to receive a lower level quality of education, which in turn factors in to college dropout rates.
In fact, the report "Rising to the Challenge," prepared by the American Enterprise Institute, claims that a student of any race enrolled in a "competitive" college is seven times more likely to receive their bachelor's degree than a student in a less competitive school.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that these dynamics have economy-wide implications. As American jobs increasingly require a college education, low Latino graduation rates will have a major impact on the country's economic competitiveness. Thus increasing the number of the Latinos with college degrees is not only a matter of social justice and equality, but also one closely tied to our economic future. We simply cannot afford to continue letting such a critical population languish without the skills to work and compete in the 21st century.
According to a 2010 report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements through 2018, 63% of new jobs in the next decade will require workers to have at least some college education. It will be essential to integrate Latinos into this new workforce, by addressing the unique needs of the community and making education more accessible and affordable.
It is common knowledge by now that the Latino community is the fastest growing minority group in our nation. As the growth of this community accelerates, we must improve our education system to keep up - or else risk falling behind as a nation.
First its we are illegal and shouldn't be in your country....but we made you pay 12K a year to educate our kids while we gave little back...but now that they are done with free school....we want IN STATE TUITION at college.
second its we want the US gov't to make special procedures for our kids to be citizens...but if we can't get that Legislation give it to us in a memo.
Now its.....well with all the special rules and breaks we had to get to compete with legal immigrants....from Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa we are still lagging behind....
so thanks to HUFFPO and Luis G D-IL we are going to demand FREE COLLEGE TUITION FOR ALL LATINOS.
and they say the gypsies always have their hands out
Federal 1/3
State 1/3
County 1/3
Now the states are picking up 75% of the cost of education, where as before it was 66%. Some of this is due to property devaluation and Federal defunding. Counties that have low property tax suffer the most. It is the "Cast System". You can not legislate equality.
http://www.matchdoctor.com/thread_6_40472_1/America_vs_Mexico_clashing_civilizations_-_Sexual_Consent_is_12.html
This is simply not accurate. Literacy in Mexico stands at 90-97%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy
[As they arrive in our country, only 9.6 percent of fourth generation Mexicans earn a high school diploma]
This is also unlikely to be true since approx. 59% of Hispanics in America earn a high school diploma. Although a 59% high school graduation rate is still alarming it is much better than 9.6%.
http://www.pewhispanic.org/files/reports/122.pdf
I find it very interesting that the article acknowledged the parents' role in influencing advanced education however did not provide stats as to how many Hispanic immigrants have any college, let alone degrees. The numbers are probably nearly non-existent. I bet a good number of Mexican and Central American adult immigrants have not even graduated high school. It does not indicate an inferior intellect--simply that in their homeland it was unnecessary because they may have been farmers, for instance.
"Studies show that Latinos who attend schools with a larger number of minority students, in poorer neighborhoods, tend to receive a lower level quality of education, which in turn factors in to college dropout rates."
If only Beverly Hills and its evil racist sister communities would fling open their doors to millions of poor Latinos then every problem our nation faces would be solved.
college was an abstract word to a lot of my mexican friends on this side of the border. it was something not even considered. education is the main reason my mother brought us here. college for me was not even an option. it was a given, and that from a mother who didn't go past the 3rd grade in mexico.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/16/local/me-lincoln16
"Mexicans abhor education. In their country, illiteracy dominates. As they arrive in our country, only 9.6 percent of fourth generation Mexicans earn a high school diploma. Mexico does not promote educational values. This makes them the least educated of any Americans or immigrants. The rate of illiteracy in Mexico stands at 63 percent."
http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty236.htm
It simply fuels the need for more oppressed laborers and bodies for the prison and crime industrial complex.
The United States has every right to maintain standards for legal immigration. We need to slam the door on illegal immigration. It does nothing but increase misery and lowers our living standards.