Hispanics/Latinos & Education

The purpose of this study is to describe federal legislation and programs that support higher education and to assess Latino participation in these programs. While there are many programs at the state, institutional, and community levels that facilitate access to higher education for Latinos, the Higher Education Act (HEA), due for reauthorization this year, is the main policy vehicle at the federal level for postsecondary education programs. These programs provide concrete examples of educational activities that can inform--and be informed by--local activities and programs to facilitate Latino student access, persistence, and completion of higher education. A series of developments in the costs and financing of colleges and universities set the context for HEA reauthorization.

I. Overview Methodology The Pew Hispanic Center/Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation National Survey of Latinos: Education was conducted by telephone between August 7 and October 15, 2003 among a nationally representative sample of 3,421 adults, 18 years and older, who were selected at random. Representatives of the Pew Hispanic Center and The Kaiser Family Foundation […]

This is a comprehensive survey of Latino attitudes toward education, public schools and a variety of education issues, including the No Child Left Behind Act.

National Survey of Latinos: Education is a new comprehensive survey of Latino attitudes toward education, public schools and a variety of education issues, including the No Child Left Behind Act. This national survey is released against the backdrop of major changes in the nation's K-12 system as states and school districts apply sweeping new federal requirements. Conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation, the survey includes substantial comparison samples of whites and African Americans.

High school dropout rates are a key performance measure for the American education system. This report shows that the standard method for calculating the dropout rate leads to a distorted picture of the status of Hispanic students in U.S. schools.

It is a commonplace claim that the education level of the Latino immigrant population is continually falling behind that of the U.S.-born population. However, the Pew Hispanic Center finds that the educational profile of the adult population of foreign-born Latinos has improved significantly during the past three decades. These gains, however, have not yet produced a notable convergence with the level of education in the native-born U.S. population. During the period 1970 to 2000 the native-born population also experienced improvements of education that outpaced the progress among Latino immigrants. Nonetheless, the trends identified in this report suggest that the gap between immigrants and natives will narrow in the future.

This report shows that by some measures a greater share of Latinos are attending college classes than non-Hispanic whites, and yet they lag every other population group in attaining college degrees, especially bachelor's degrees. A detailed examination of data for enrollment shows a high propensity among Latino high school graduates to pursue post-secondary studies. However, most are pursuing paths associated with lower chances of attaining a bachelor's degree. Many are enrolled in community colleges, many also only attend school part-time and others delay or prolong their college education into their mid-20s and beyond. These findings clearly show that large numbers of Latinos finish their secondary schooling and try to extend their education but fail to earn a degree.

The Latino labor force is experiencing a major generational shift as increasing numbers of today's young native-born Latino Americans become workers. This report describes the wage, employment outcomes, and labor market attachment of Latino adults by age and generation during the economic expansion of the late 1990s.

In the United States today people with more education tend to live longer and healthier lives, remain married longer and earn more money. Latinos are the least-well educated segment of the American population.

The “New Economy” of the past decade lifted the prospects of all Hispanics. Still, on average Hispanics lagged behind non-Hispanic whites, mainly due to large-scale immigration and poor levels of education.