A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Key Indicators of Hispanic Student Achievement:
National Goals and Benchmarks for the Next Decade

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  Goal 1 | Goal 2 | Goal 3 | Goal 4 | Goal 5 | PDF Icon version

 

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Education is the key to individual opportunity, the strength of our economy, and the vitality of our democracy. In the 21st century, this nation cannot afford to leave anyone behind. While the academic achievement and educational attainment of Hispanic Americans has been moving in the right direction, untenable gaps still exist between Hispanic students and their counterparts in the areas of early childhood education, learning English, academic achievement, and high school and college completion.

Hispanics will represent more than one-quarter of school-age children in the United States by 2025. These children are more likely than others to be educationally and economically disadvantaged. Presently, 36 percent of Hispanic students live in families whose income is below the poverty line. As a result, Hispanic students are concentrated in high-poverty, largely racially isolated schools, and they often have limited access to the resources needed for academic success, such as highly qualified teachers, small classes, 21st century technology, and modern school buildings.

As the fastest growing racial or ethnic group in America's public schools, Hispanic students have the unique potential to positively affect the economic and cultural future of the United States. Ensuring the promise of this diverse group of learners requires the attention and commitment of the entire country. We must work harder to close the educational achievement gaps between Hispanic students and the nation as a whole. This must begin with high expectations for achievement, clear goals for what must be accomplished, and specific benchmarks to measure our progress.

This report defines national goals for improving the educational achievement of Hispanic students. These include providing access to quality early childhood education, learning English, closing the academic achievement gaps, increasing the rate of high school completion, and doubling the rate of postsecondary degree attainment. These goals focus on results and, in some areas, include indicators that provide a clear picture of the progress that must be made. In other areas, key indicators must be developed to effectively gauge progress and achievement. This report is intended to serve not only as an annual measure of national progress, but as tool for use by stakeholders at all levels and in all sectors to galvanize action and boost Hispanic student achievement throughout the country.
  GOAL 1: Early Childhood

Ensure that Hispanic American children have access to high-quality early childhood education and development programs and enter school prepared to succeed by increasing the Hispanic participation rate to the national participation rate in high-quality programs by 2010.

KEY OUTCOME INDICATOR:


 Baseline Year Age Hispanic National
Percentage of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children who were enrolled in center-based or kindergarten programs. [ 1 ] 1999 3
4
5		 26%
64%
89%		 46%
70%
93%

All percentages rounded.

OTHER OUTCOME INDICATORS:


 Baseline Year Hispanic National
Percentage of eligible children who were enrolled in Head Start programs. [ 2 ] 1998 36% 40%
Percentage of 3-to 5-year-olds who were read to by a family member on a daily basis. [ 3 ] 1999 33% 53%

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  GOAL 2: Learning English

Respecting the importance of multi-lingualism, age-specific learning needs, different research-based instructional approaches, and the variety of developmental levels at which limited English proficient (LEP) children enter school, by 2010 all states and school districts will provide appropriate language instruction to ensure that all students graduate from high school having demonstrated proficiency in English.

KEY OUTCOME INDICATOR:

To be developed: There are more than 3.5 million children with limited English proficiency in U.S. schools. These children need sufficient proficiency to succeed in the full academic program, however, there are no national data on their progress in learning English. The Secretary of Education will be responsible for developing an adequate indicator to regularly measure the English language proficiency of these students, such as through the collection of state or national sample data.

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  GOAL 3: Eliminating the Achievement Gap

Provide a high-quality education with appropriate resources and support to ensure equal opportunity for all students in order to eliminate the achievement gap between Hispanic students and other students on appropriate state assessments and other indicators by 2010.

KEY OUTCOME INDICATORS:

To be developed: By 2001, under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, states are required to have aligned assessments that test all students at three grade intervals and report data disaggregated by race and ethnicity, as well as by English proficiency.


Baseline Year Hispanic National
Percentage of elementary, middle, and high school students in each state who scored at or above the proficient level on the reading and math sections of aligned state assessments. 2001 Data not yet available Data not yet available

OTHER OUTCOME INDICATORS:


 Baseline Year Hispanic National
Percentage of fourth graders who scored at or above the proficient level on the reading section of the NAEP test. [ 4 ] 1998 13% 31%
Percentage of fourth graders who scored at or above the proficient level on the mathematics section of the NAEP test. [ 5 ] 1996 8% 22%
Percentage of eighth graders who scored at or above the proficient level on the reading section of the NAEP test. [ 6 ] 1998 15% 33%
Percentage of eighth graders who scored at or above the proficient level on the mathematics section of the NAEP test. [ 7 ] 1996 9% 24%
Students' average mathematics SAT score. [ 8 ] 1999 458 511
Students' average verbal SAT score. 1999 457 505

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  GOAL 4: Eliminating the Gap in High School Completion

Increase the high school completion rate for Hispanic students to 90 percent by 2010.

KEY OUTCOME INDICATOR:


 Baseline Year Hispanic National
Percentage of 18- to 24- year olds who had either a high school diploma or a GED. [ 9 ] 1998 63% 85%

OTHER OUTCOME INDICATORS:


 Baseline Year Hispanic National
Percentage of students ages 15 to 24 in grades 10-12 who were enrolled in high school the previous October but were not enrolled and had not graduated by the following October. [ 10 ] 1998 9% 5%
Percentage of students ages 16 to 24 born outside the U.S. [ * ] who were not enrolled in school and did not complete high school. [ 11 ] 1997 39% 24%
Percentage of first generation [ * ] students aged 16-24 born within the U.S. who were not enrolled in school and did not complete high school. 1997 15% 10%

* Individuals born in Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories are considered born outside the U.S.. Individuals are classified as first generation if they were born in the 50 states or DC and at least one of their parents was not.

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  GOAL 5: Increasing Postsecondary Completion

Double the percentage of Hispanic Americans who earn associate's and bachelor's degrees by 2010.

KEY OUTCOME INDICATORS:


 Baseline Year Hispanic National
Percentage of individuals ages 25- to 29 who held a bachelor's degree or higher. [ 12 ] 1998 10% 27%
Percentage of individuals ages 25- to 29 who held an occupational or academic associate's degree. 1998 6% 9%

OTHER OUTCOME INDICATORS:


 Baseline Year Hispanic National
Percentage of high school graduates who completed four years of English and three years of mathematics, science, and social studies. [ 13 ] 1998 40% 55%
Percentage of individuals ages 16 to 24 who had graduated from high school in the preceding 12 months and were enrolled in college the following October. [ 14 ] 1998 55% 66%
Percentage of all 18- to 24-year-old high school graduates who were enrolled in institutions of higher education. [ 15 ] 1998 34% 45%
Percentage of all 18- to 24-year-olds who were enrolled in institutions of higher education. 1998 20% 37%

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  Sources
  1. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (2000). The Condition of Education 2000. Table 2-1.
  2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start Bureau. (June, 2000) Special computation by Craig Turner.
  3. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (1999). National Household Education Survey, Parent Interview. Special Tabulation by the Education Statistical Services Institute.
  4. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (1999). NAEP 1998 Reading, A Report Card for the Nation and the States. Table 13-2.
  5. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (May, 2000). NAEP Summary data table http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/TABLES/SDTTOOL.HTM
  6. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (1999). NAEP 1998 Reading: A Report Card for the Nation and the States. Table 15-1.
  7. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (May, 2000). NAEP Summary data table http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/TABLES/SDTTOOL.HTM
  8. The College Board. (2000). 1999 College-Bound Seniors. New York.
  9. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (1999). Dropout Rates in the United States: 1998. Table 4.
  10. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (1999). Dropout Rates in the United States: 1998. Table 1.
  11. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (June, 2000). High School Dropouts by Race-Ethnicity and Recency of Migration. Indicator of the Month.
  12. U.S. Census Bureau. Population Division. Education and Social Stratification Branch (1999) Educational Attainment in the United States: March 1998 (Update). Table 1.
  13. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (1999). Digest of Education Statistics 1999. Table 142.
  14. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (1999). Condition of Education 2000. Table 32-1.
  15. U.S. Department of Education, NCES. (1999). Digest of Education Statistics 1999. Table 189.

Cover Photo © Karen Sachar

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