Ending the Latino/a Achievement Gap

As students across the country don their caps and gowns, it's time to look at what academics call the "achievement gap." Andy Porter of the Penn GSE News states, "The achievement gap is the persistent disparity in academic achievement between minority and disadvantaged students and their white counterparts." 

The good news is that the graduation rate of Latinos has increased. According to Excelencia in Education, a total of 72% of all Latinos ages 25 and over have a high school diploma. That is up from 53% in 1995. These national statistics are bolstered by California Latina/o graduation rates which have increased substantially. 

While high school graduation rates are improving, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has recently highlighted a study by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) that reveals that far too many four-year colleges and universities graduate less than half of their Latina/o students. According to the Gates Foundation, "Hispanic students graduate at lower rates than their white peers across similarly ranked colleges, from the nation's least selective to its most selective colleges and universities."

Teaching is not a one size fits all venture. However, the public school system is still designed to teach children from two-parent single-family earner homes. This social-economic model has greatly diminished over the past several decades and now only represents about 27% of US households. 

Our policymakers must prioritize putting an end to the "achievement gap." Our community deserves it, and the future of our country depends on it. We will continue advocating for it here at LatinoVoterUSA.com