The educational status remains bad - and it is getting worse!

While the United States has dramatically advanced from an agrarian to an industrial nation, and now we are radically changing into an information-driven society, Latino educational advancement has developed at a disproportional pace. The population of the United States has developed into a diverse nation of immigrants, yet its federal, state and institutional agencies have not attended to its fastest-growing, and now largest, ethnic population. The most recently reported national data provides an overview of Latinos and education:

• The United States experienced a national increase in the Latino population equal to 12.5 percent in the Census 2000. The national growth rate in the 1990s was 58 percent and even higher in some states, e.g., the Latino population in Arizona increased 88 percent from 1990 to 2000.
• While the percentage of Latinos in the national population is 12.5 percent, there is an even greater share of Latinos in K-12 student enrollment, which is nationally reported at 16.2 percent. In some states the Latino student enrollment is much higher, e.g., California with 41 percent.
• A dramatic education achievement gap between White and Latino students has stayed the same or has widened, but has not closed (for example, only 16 percent of eighth grade Hispanic students are proficient in reading, versus 45 percent of White students according to an NAEP 1996 report).
• While the percentage of Latino high school dropouts has remained steady at 44 percent (still the highest high-school drop-out rate), the actual number of Latino high school dropouts is increasing because of a rise in the number of Latino students in the high school population.
• Slightly higher college enrollment numbers provide a misleading picture of Latino progress in higher education. The increases still are not equal to the population growth or K-12 enrollments.
• Increasing community college enrollments has resulted in a greater concentration and segregation of Latino students in these institutions.
• Continued underrepresentation in four-year colleges and research universities means that Latinos have a lower graduation rate and that there is a lower percentage of Latinos with a four-year degree.
• Less that 10 percent of Latino students attain an advanced degree, and most are limited to certain fields, like education.

In short, whatever the gains or loses in the above categories, they are the result of a growing Latino population. Institutional and state and federal governmental responses have not only remained the same (i.e., inadequate), but also in some ways have regressed. For example, the stopping of bilingual education programs in California and Arizona and the elimination of race based criteria for college admission in California and Texas has furthered the inadequate status of Latinos and neglected their specific needs. Even worse, where Latinos are a greater percentage and live in higher numbers, as in the five southwestern states, their status is more dismal.

At The Crossroads

The United States can continue to take a minimalist approach to the education of its largest ethnic population and future workforce and maintain a denial mindset (i.e., the future of the United States is not dependent upon Latinos), but doing so will create a nation at risk, jeopardizing our status as a world leader! By pursuing the previous and current ineffective approach to education of "too little, too late" and "only in response to a crisis," matters for Latinos and the nation will get worse, given their natural growth, the insufficient resources, and the nation's inadequate educational practices.

Or the United States can take the smart path and the high road, dramatically shifting its political will and radically applying ample resources to address these historical forces. In so doing, Latinos and America will be exponentially enriched--economically, culturally, and socially. The choice to determine the future is now.

Creating an empowered People and Future

The Latino population in America is growing, especially school-aged children. Yet, because most of the increase in the Latino population in concentrated in the Southwest, the problems and needs of this population, especially in education, is perceived as a state and regional issue. The challenges identified in this report have been present in communities across the country, but they have been brought to our attention only recently with the dramatic increases in Latinos in the Southwest. Policy makers need to look beyond their state borders and realize that the Southwest is not an isolated region but a bellwether for the whole country. Our collective mindset needs to shift from seeing this policy issue as a regional problem to be solved by the individual states to seeing it as a priority shared by all at the local, state, and federal levels. To ensure a stronger and vibrant future for America, the following systemic changes need to be put into place now:

• Adopting a totally new mindset and consistent philosophy that holds Latinos as capable and competitive contributors as opposed to a belief that this population is disadvantaged and deficient.
• Building new educational paradigms with learning theories and pedagogy centered on Latinos, their culture, and experiences.
• Building new educational paradigms with learning theories and pedagogy centered on Latinos, their culture, and experiences.
• Integrating proven programs into the mainline curriculum and expanding their capacity.
• Finding new and increased resources to effectively address much needed innovation and to be integrated on a permanent basis into the educational state budget.
• Addressing certain pivotal stages along the educational pipeline with special measures:
• Preschool and kindergarten
• The elementary to middle school transition
• The high school to college transition

Just as the United States has made giant leaps forward in business and science this past century, it should, can, and must apply the same political will, societal brainpower, and institutional might at the start of this new millennium to the education of Latinos. What is called for is a "Latino Marshall Plan." By taking a serious, comprehensive, and priority-one approach, other ethnic and racial populations, as well as the entire country, will benefit not only now but, most importantly, in the future.