Education for Hispanics in Texas: Leaving Statistics Behind

Abstract

For the past decades, the education system in the United States has experience a decline in the number of students who complete high school and continue on to higher education. After President Reagan's national calling with A Nation At Risk, the country's perspective towards education changed; the United States was no longer the number one producer of educated individuals and was failing to assist children in their educational needs. More students were failing to meet the requirements, dropping out of school or graduating despite being illiterate, many of these students being of Hispanic origin. Hispanics, the fastest growing minority group, also had the largest dropout rate statistics in the entire nation. The truth is, many Hispanic students are part of underserved communities, where unequipped and unprepared schools await them each year, lacking quality programs and advanced curriculums to ensure college readiness. Students were forced to leave school and find employment; continuing the cycle previously established, in most cases, by their family members. Fortunately, the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act has begun to change the situation. The introduction of new laws and requirements that hold every adult in the system responsible for the student results has made a significant tum. States with the largest Hispanic population, such as Texas, have began to see changes in the number of students that complete high school and continue on to college. More students are receiving the attention they needed to succeed in their courses and graduate, leaving behind the statistics that once were associated with being a student, belonging to an underserved community and being Hispanic. They are becoming the change that the culture and the nation would like to see, increasing their opportunities and benefiting the nation as a whole.