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Latino Education: Progress?

By Manuel Hernandez Carmona

           There have been claims of progress in the education of Latinos in the United States, and there is indeed power in the declaration of words made by the outgoing administration. Who can deny the good intentions of those interested in making a positive contribution to the education of Latinos? But statistics speak for themselves, and the National Center for Education Statistics has recently posted very insightful information on the present status of Latino education. America has always placed a strong value on higher education, but Latinos are being stripped of that opportunity by not scoring adequately in the SAT’s.

            An overview on “SAT score averages of college-bound seniors, by race/ethnicity:   in selected years, 1986-87 through 2006-07” will show that Hispanic students are scoring below 500 in reading, math and writing. As a matter of fact, there has been very little progress, if any, during the last 22 years in these statistics. During the last eight years, the Bush administration made claims of how the No Child Left Behind Act encouraged and facilitated the progress of the education of Latinos, but an up and closer look at these statistics overturn those claims. If Latino teens are scoring below average in the SAT's, then it makes it extremely difficult for them to receive a higher education.

          In another table posted in the National Center for Education Statistics, in the "Percentage distribution of adults ages 25 and over, by highest level of educational attainment and race/ethnicity: 2007", Latinos have the highest percentage in the "Less than high school completion" category. The 39.7 percent is staggering and alarming at the same time. For years, the world-wide secret concerning the Latino high school dropout rate is that it is nearly an incomprehensible 50%. While the claims of educational improvement have been made, the reality of the education of Latinos continues to look dreary and disheartening. Who is responsible for the educational fallout of our children?

            America is living a very interesting moment in history. While the economy has taken the forefront of all the issues discussed today, we continue to ignore the fact that the largest minority in America is not only at an economic disadvantage, but because it is less educated; it is in high risk of becoming a “crisis within a crisis,” Although the Obama administration is receiving high marks for its “stimulus packages”, there is no specific mention on how the Department of Education plans to help the millions of Latino children obtain the quality education that they deserve. Yes, it is too soon to evaluate, but there is no specific strategy on how they plan to undertake these and other educational dilemmas faced by Latino children.  

            The United States Department of Education has announced its participation in an unparalleled endeavor to refuel the economy by “expanding educational opportunities” in its so-called “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”. It stimulates education by investing millions of dollars to help save teaching jobs and foster educational reform. That’s all good! States like California have taken a head start and have qualified for 4 billion dollars and according to the information provided by the US Department of Education--they will provide assurances that they will gather, produce, scrutinize and perform on basic information concerning the quality of classroom teachers, annual student improvements through city, national and state testing requirements, college readiness programs and other educational efforts being made to improve the quality of the education of all children. Without a doubt, there is an enormous power in words to reform, transform and make a difference in people’s lives. Nobody thought Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” would be a reality today. Who can deny the good intentions of those interested in making a positive contribution to the education of Latinos? But statistics always speak for themselves. Let us be optimistic about the current administration’s declarations and efforts and pray that the charts and tables speak differently in the years to come.

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Contact Manuel Hernandez Carmona at: mannyh32@yahoo.com