PATRICIA GÁNDARAUCLA

March 12, 2010CALSA

Percent of 25-29 Year olds with BA or more

0

50

100

Asian 43 60 58

White 24 24 29 34 37

Black 11 12 15 18 21

Latino 9 11 9 11 12

1975 1985 1995 2005 2008

Why Does it Matter?

California is NOW a Latino state: 52% of K-12 students are Latino.

By 2025, California will be short 1 million college degrees to fill existing positions

By 2020, 11% decline in per capita income in CA; (40% increase between 1980- 2000)

California is on the brink of economic disaster if it does not better educate these students

The Broken Pipeline Problem Begins Before Kindergarten

0

10

20

30

40

50

% TopQuartilereading

% TopQuartilemath

%LowQuartileReading

%LowQuartile

Math

ECLS-K, NCES 1998

White

Asian

Black

Latino

And Doesn’t Improve with Time

4041

1315

42

50

1115

0

10

20

30

40

50

Reading Math

Percent Profiicent Grade 8, NAEP 2007

White

Asian

Black

Latino

High School Completion, 2008 96% of Asian Students 94% of White Students 88% of Black Students 68% of Latino Students

National Center for Education Statistics, 2009

Is language the problem?

Educational policies/interventions for Latinos have focused on learning English, BUT

Middle class immigrant Latinos with consistent schooling abroad typically out-perform native-born Latino students

Over-emphasis on language has obscured the deeper problems of inadequate schooling and harsh social conditions

Over-emphasis on language has also led to counter-productive language policies, e.g, “English as quickly as possible”

Speaking another language is NOT a deficit But we treat it like a deficit; Policies that focus on English ASAP

shortchange students’ academic education Data from states that have adopted English

only policies show policy failure; Gaps are bigger in those states

Research shows both academic and cognitive advantages of bilingualism

Bilingualism is a cultural and labor market asset

But most English learners are taught in English only by monolingual teachers

Conditions for Latino Students

According to international comparisons, 37% of Latino youth live in poverty

73% are eligible for free/reduced lunch More than 60% of Latinos in cities in the west attend

hyper-segregated schools (90%+) 1/3 of Latino families are without health

insurance Highest residential mobility; unstable parental

employment Half of all Latino babies are being born to single

moms--fastest growth for any group The best predictor of school performance is

parent education and 40% of Latino parents have not completed high school

The Growing Gap: Percent K-12 Students with Parents with BA +,

1979-2006

Source: NCES, 2008.

Current Education Policies/Practices Don’t Address

the Real Problems Higher standards without sufficient resources Blaming teachers instead of supporting them Sole focus on “achievement” instead of drop out Charter schools: more segregated and serve few

English learners English only instruction and assessment in

English for students who don’t speak English Emphasis on narrow set of skills Ignoring the cultural and linguistic assets of

Latino children. . .and funds of knowledge of parents

Little focus on poverty reduction

We need:

A campaign to prepare more Latino and bilingual teachers

Strong, affordable preschool education for Latinos Acknowledge schools can do much but cannot do it

all; bring social and health services to the schools To better educate Latino parents to advocate for

their kids To build on students’ linguistic assets Focus more on drop out prevention and school

engagement Find creative ways to break down the isolation in

which Latino students live and go to school