Education Retention Issues for Latino High School and College Aged

A Forum — June 13, 2003

Background

The Pew Hispanic Center, a non-partisan research organization that seeks to improve understanding of the diverse Hispanic population in the U.S. and to chronicle Latinos’ growing impact on the nation, recently released two new reports on Hispanic high school and college attendance and completion rates: Latinos in Higher Education: Many Enroll, Too Few Graduate and Hispanic Youth Dropping Out of U.S. Schools: Measuring the Challenge. Both reports are available on the center’s web site: http://www.pewhispanic.org/index.jsp. At this AYPF forum, a representative from the center, the author of the two reports, and an expert on the Hispanic labor market addressed issues related to education and employment for Hispanic youth.

Forum Summary

Roberto Suro, Director of the Pew Hispanic Center, explained to the audience that education retention issues are of concern to Pew because Latinos are the major growing youth segment and native Latinos will be the largest source of new entrants into the labor force over the next 25 years. Currently, there is a serious gap between the high school and college completion rates of Hispanics relative to rates for Whites. The Pew Hispanic Center believes that this is not merely a Hispanic problem; it is a problem for the whole country.

Richard Fry, Senior Research Associate, Pew Hispanic Center, discussed education retention issues for Latino school and college-age youth. Latino youth complete high school at lower rates than non-Hispanic Whites. Forty-three percent of Hispanic youth aged 16-19 who drop out of high school are natives of the U.S, but, surprisingly, about one-third of Hispanic 16-19 year olds who do not complete high school never attended school in the U.S. Since this group never attended school here, it will be very difficult to reach them and to improve their school completion rates.

Latino youth do go on to postsecondary education at rates comparable to Whites. However, there is a large gap in college completion rates: 36% of White high school graduates finish their bachelor’s degree compared to 18% of Hispanics. Latinos make greater use of community colleges, are less likely to attend college full-time, and are more likely to work full-time while in college, all factors associated with lower college completion rates. Hispanic college students are also more likely to have dependents and to live with their parents, factors that may also affect college persistence rates. A key issue for policymakers to focus on to improve outcomes for Hispanics, then, is not only getting these students onto the campus; but increasing completion rates.

Harry Holzer, Professor, Georgetown Public Policy Center and an expert on youth labor markets, described the youth labor market for Hispanics and Whites between 1979 and 2000. The employment rates for young, les-educated men are comparable; however, if we look at the earnings of these two groups, we see that Latinos earn less than Whites. He recommended that, starting in high school, we should adopt innovative programs that combine work and schooling so that young men who feel pressure to work and those who are in danger of becoming disconnected have a means of earning some money and becoming connected. He suggested that we support alternative programs that connect high schools with community colleges, programs that provide flexibility and which make it easier for young Hispanics to combine school and work. There are already a lot of innovative strategies out there that combine school and work; but very few have been evaluated and evaluated rigorously. We need more research to determine which programs work and are most cost-effective, he said.

Holzer also identified strategies for overcoming some of the barriers that block productive employment for Hispanic men: 1) develop intermediary agencies between schools and employers; 2) provide job placement and training services; 3) offer financial incentives to increase the financial rewards of jobs that are traditionally low-paying; 4) connect ex-offenders to job training and services before they leave jail; and 5) bring about reforms in the child support system so that young men who are piling up arrears do not get driven out of the labor market altogether.

Doug Besharov, Professor, University of Maryland, and Scholar, American Enterprise Institute, addressed trends in college enrollment and completion rates. His research shows that, between 1971 and 2002, the absolute number of Hispanics attending and completing college increased by 80% while it decreased by 5% for Whites. However, as a group, Hispanics still had lower college-entry and completion rates than Whites during the same time period. The financial rewards of degree completion are significant and for this reason we need to encourage college completion as a goal for Hispanics and every child and work toward equity. At the same time, Besharov cautioned, we need to keep in mind that not everybody needs to go to college, “there are other avenues to success.”

Besharov said that there was one key message he wanted to deliver to policymakers: while we cannot reasonably address all issues related to Hispanic college attendance and retention, we can fix issues related to federal funding for these students. Federal aid is intended to help equalize educational opportunity and to provide a subsidy to help the poor break out of the cycle of poverty. This is not happening, and reforms are badly needed in federal aid programs. Currently, the money that is available through Pell grants is not being directed to the neediest students, and students have begun to take on enormous debt to enter and complete college. Subsidized and unsubsidized student loans have come to take on a larger and larger role in financial aid packages while Pell grants and other federal aid programs have remained relatively fixed. For instance, in 1975, the maximum Pell grant covered approximately 84 percent of tuition at a public four-year institution; today, it covers approximately 44 percent. The more aid that comes to students in the form of grants rather than loans, the more likely it is that we can retain students from one year to the next. Policymakers also need to keep in mind that young adults from poor and Hispanic families often do not have the cultural capital necessary to navigate the student aid maze; however, “this is the kind of problem that is within our reach to fix.”

Besharov added that if we are to improve educational outcomes for Hispanic students, we should not direct high school age students into permanent tracks that determine whether or not those students are prepared to go on to college. All youth should be prepared for college just in case they do change their minds at a later date and want to go on to college.

Discussion

Audience members responded to panelists and offered their own policy recommendations:

1. In our focus on the ethnicity of various groups who fail to matriculate or complete college, we should not overlook the role of socio-economic status;
2. Good counseling in high school is essential to place students appropriately in high school and to help them and their families navigate the college admissions process;
3. There is a lot of data about risk factors associated with high school and college non-completion;

however, more research is needed about protective factors, or those conditions that make it more likely that a disadvantaged student will complete high school or college.

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