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Brian Uribe
Professor Bieber
English 115 Honors
12 November 2015
Latinos Underperform in Public School
Latinos are the largest growing ethnic minority group in the United
States, projected to become the majority by 2050 (Ahmed). The inundation
of Hispanics is evident in public schools where enrollment records published
by Californias Department of Education stated 3.3 million Latinos were
enrolled in public school, compared to the 1.5 million people who identified
as white (2014). While Latinos make up a large portion of those in public
school they score the worst according to an Accountability Performance
Index Report performed by the Californias Department of Education which
pointed out Hispanics have the least amount of growth in comparison to
other race and ethnicity groups (2013). The US must take into account Latino
culture, discrepancies in the public school system, and the implications of an
underperforming minority group would have on the nation. How the state
and federal government addresses the influx of a minority group and the
conflict in an equal education will determine its ability to take charge in a
morphing society.
The department of education must understand where their
demographics are coming from, most importantly understanding Latino
culture. Most Central and Southern American schools are broken down into

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Primaria, Secondaria, and Preparatoria; essentially elementary, junior high,
and high school. However students may have elementary school as their
only form of education. While leaving sixth grade seems taboo in America,
its culturally acceptable in Latin America because of the way their society is
structured. While they may not receive a complete education themselves,
they build themselves up so their children will have a better opportunity.
Latinos emigrate towards the US in an attempt to support their children
through development in the hopes they attain a higher quality of life. What
these characteristics portray is the importance of an education but also their
inability of becoming informed of their childrens education. A first
generation American has trouble assimilating into American culture and
there is a rift shown in public schools which education departments must
acknowledge.
The increase in the demographic has raised concerns and posed
challenges to educators who encounter barriers that prevent students from
receiving an optimal education (Moreno). Families face many social issues
such as citizenship and the lack of it which invalidates their chance of
receiving government programs. Teachers identified and determined the
linguistic discrepancies that would occur in transferring learning
development (Cooper). So someone who is growing up with English as their
second language would not translate concepts well and without further
assistance would fall behind as they try understanding concepts that dont
make sense. While the linguistics are a factor in a child development,

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standardized tests which decide how a student has stressed students to
perform up to standard and teachers at Carling Spring Elementary tailored
their lessons towards test preparation and saw significant improvement in
test scores, however the teachers react with mixed emotions as their
classroom efforts are judged by how their students perform on a test
(Balingit). If a student were falling behind on curriculum, they would not
receive the assimilation programs to get them up to speed, and if they knew
just enough to get by then they would be at a disadvantage to others who
have received a complete education.
The growing Hispanic population needs to be accommodated with
academic programs for students to reach a proper education. If the ethnic
group were not to be assimilated into society there would be immediate and
long-term implications of a stunted population. A student who falls behind
would be susceptible to associating an education with negative emotions and
would not seek a higher education or even drop out due to being out of their
depth and an overwhelming feeling of dissatisfaction. If this were to continue
for a decade or two then there will be a generation who do have the same
values as their predecessors and will pass off giving up as acceptable
behavior. Now minimum wage is not necessarily a living wage, there will be a
whole ethnic group who had not received qualities or abilities that will get
them anything different than an entry level job. With the way the market
economy is, most business will either pay for technology in the place of a
person or outsource a position to another country where they can get

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someone for less. Having a population that is uneducated will put more
people on welfare and regions where people are living a lower quality of life
will see crime rates go up and destabilize society.
A growing ethnic group must integrate into a different society where
responsibility is placed upon both parties. Everyone should have the
opportunity to experience success. Education is the root of success and
must be available to all residents of a state. The public school system must
accommodate their enrolled students and adopt ESL and assimilation
programs that keep students involved and remain opportunistic of receiving
a fair education.

Work Cited
"2012-13 Accountability Progress Reporting (APR)." California Department of
Education. California Department of Education, 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
Ahmed, B. and J.G. Robinson. 1994. Estimates of Emigration of the Foreignborn Population: 1980-1990. Population Division Working Paper No. 9. U.S.
Census Bureau: Washington, DC. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

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Balingit, Moriah, and T Rees Shapiro. "Poor, Hispanic School Focuses on Test
Prep, Sees Huge Gains. but Can It Be Replicated? An Experiment at
Virginia's Carlin Springs Elementary

Was Wildly Successful. Can Others

Replicate It?." The Washington Post, (2015): .Web.

10 Nov. 2015.

Cooper, Samuel G. Taming High-stakes Anxiety Among English Language

Learners: The Test

Anxiety of Middle School Hispanic ESL Students and

Understanding the Consequences. n.p.: ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,

2007. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
"Enrollment in California Public Schools by Ethnic Designation, 201415."California

Department of Education. California Department of

Education, 2014. Web. 12 Nov.

2015.

Moreno, Gerardo, and Francisco X Gaytan. "Focus on Latino Learners:

Developing a

Foundational Understanding of Latino Cultures to Cultivate

Student Success." Preventing

Onesearch. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

School Failure, 57.1 (2013): 7.