Two recently published studies offer insight into issues surrounding Latino students’ access to and graduation rates from postsecondary education institutes. The reports focus on statistics from community colleges—institutions that Latino students are more likely to attend than any other ethnic group—and on providing better access to and persistence through higher education for Latinos. Both studies use data gathered by the National Education Longitudinal Study, a federally financed project that tracked more than 12,000 participants from 8th grade to age 25 to 26.

In a paper presented to the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Institution in April, Mariana Alfonso described how members of different racial groups tend to use community colleges. She discovered that:

• Latino students are more likely to attend community colleges than those from other ethnic groups.
• 45 percent of Latino students in the study attended a two-year institution as opposed to 35 percent of white students and 32 percent of black students.
• Of the three ethnic groups, Latinos are the only group more likely to attend a two-year college than a four-year school. Twenty-nine percent of Latino students, as opposed to 44 percent of white students and 38 percent of black students attended a four-year school.

Alfonso concluded that policy-makers and researchers should be aware of these unique characteristics of the Latino student population and target policies accordingly.

Another paper presented at the meeting by Juan Carlos Calcagno found that students in general are more likely to graduate or transfer to a four-year institution if they attend smaller community colleges.

However, according to another report “Latino Students and the Educational Pipeline: Pathways to the Bachelor’s Degree for Latino Students,” Latinos seeking a four-year degree are not necessarily aided by beginning at a two-year school.

Using the same data set from the National Education Longitudinal Study, the study sought to address the question of furthering access to and graduation from postsecondary institutions for Latino students. The report found that:

• Only 23 percent of Latino students graduate with a four-year degree, as opposed to 47 percent of white students.
• Latina students are 20 percent more likely to complete a four-year degree than their male counterparts.
• Middle-income Latino students had a 17 percent better chance of completing a four-year degree than low-income Latino students.

The study found that socioeconomic status, parental expectations, planning, course-taking patterns and student post-secondary behaviors have a significant impact on post-secondary degree completion for Latino students. The report’s suggested solution of the accessibility question: “(Those) who are supported by their families in the pursuit of a postsecondary education, create a plan by the eighth grade, take three years of mathematics or more, start at a four-year institution, maintain continuous enrollment and a GPA of 2.50 or above can close the gap between Latinos and whites in the completion of four-year degrees.”

The full report can be found at www.educationalpolicy.org/pdf/LatinoIII.pdf.

Submitted by Michael Amaloo ©2005 EDFUND