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Brian Uribe
Professor Bieber
English 115 Honors
12 November 2015
Growing Mexican Population Underperforms in American Public Schools
Mexicans are the largest growing ethnic minority group in the United
States, projected to become the national majority by 2050 (Ahmed). With
that in mind, is the nation prepared to accommodate a demographic shift?
Currently it is not. According to an Accountability Performance Index Report
compiled by Californias Department of Education, Chicanos have scored the
lowest in last years standardized tests and show the least amount of
academic growth in comparison to other race and ethnic groups (2012-13
Accountability Progress Reporting). Looking back on years worth of reports,
Mexicans have led California in underperformance for some time now. Dr.
Leonard Greenhalgh, Professor of Business Management at Dartmouth
College, addressed that all but a few of the minority groups remain an
economic underclass, and that the class division between the rich and middle
class will drastically increasing due to the lack of education that minority
groups needs in todays economy (Greenhalgh). The United States must
acknowledge Hispanic culture, address discrepancies in the public education
system for schools that are largely Hispanic, or deal with the long term
implications an underperforming and growing minority group would have on
the nation.
The increase of Mexican immigrants is largely evident in Californias
public schools. Enrollment records published by Californias Department of
Education stated that out of the 6 million students on record, 3.3 million

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Latinos were enrolled in public schools, which eclipses the 1.5 million people
who identified as white, non-Hispanic (Enrollment in California Public Schools
by Ethnic Designation. Both the state and federal government need to
address the inequalities that exist between Chicano and White students in
our public education system. To do so Californias Department of Education
must have a complete understanding of their student demographics to shape
their curriculum to the students of current times. According to the 2010
Census, Mexicans made up 63% of the Hispanic/Latino group with 30 million
documented individuals (Self-Reported Detailed Hispanic or Latino Group by
Type of Race Response: 2010). Most countries south of the United States
border have schools broken down into Primaria, Secondaria, and
Preparatoria; essentially elementary, junior high, and high school. However,
Primaria is the only mandated form of education, so looking at education
attainment records shows that 33% of Hispanics and Latinos have not
received a high school education, 13% have only gone as far as required to
(Detailed Years of School Completed by People 25 Years and Over by Sex,
Age Groups, Race and Hispanic Origin: 2014).While leaving sixth grade is
illegal and looked down upon in the United States, its culturally acceptable
anywhere South of California. As a part of culture, many Hispanic/Latino
parents work hard so their children will have better opportunities, often
having to emigrate in the hopes of a higher quality of life. While this
demonstrates the recognition of the importance of an education by many
Hispanic/Latino parents, it also demonstrates their inability of becoming

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informed of their childrens education due to not being as educated. Imagine
the frustration one of the 13% who had not gone past 6th grade feels when
their child needs help in Algebra? Now imagine the elation and the humbling
joy they would feel when their child becomes proficient in a concept that
surpasses what they know. A first generation American may have trouble
assimilating into American culture, it is up to public schools to ease their
families through the transition.
The increase in the Hispanic/Latino students has posed challenges to
educators who encounter barriers that prevent students from receiving an
optimal education (Moreno). After performing observational studies, teachers
identified and determined that linguistic discrepancies exist and that learning
development is affected from translating information between languages
(Cooper). Some Hispanic/Latino Families face many social issues, such as
lack of documentation/citizenship which makes them ineligible for many
government programs such as the opportunity of having an English as a
Second Language program. Parents may face economic/legal issues that
impact their students academic success. Someone who is growing up with
English as their second language may not be able to translate concepts well,
and without further assistance, may fall behind academically as they try to
understand concepts that just dont make sense. Students are measured
through standardized tests which do not reflect the overall improvements a
student had made. Teachers at Carling Spring Elementary, a school in Florida
which encountered low scores from the ethnic group, tailored their lessons
towards test preparation and saw significant improvement in test scores

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(Balingit). While the teachers had reported progress in test scores they
acknowledged that students became disassociated with the curriculum and
the monotonous task that was their academia.
The growing Hispanic population needs to be accommodated with
academic progr ams designed to close the achievement gap between ethnic
groups and improve school performance. If the ethnic group were not to be
acclimated into society there would be long-term implications of a changed
population. A student who falls behind would be susceptible to associating
education with negative emotions and may not seek a higher education or
may even drop out of high school 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 such a large class division between the rich and
working class that limited opportunity will pass off as acceptable behavior.
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 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

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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.
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.
"Detailed Years of School Completed by People 25 Years and Over by Sex,
Age Groups, Race

and Hispanic Origin: 2014." US Census Bureau. US

Census Bureau, 5 Jan. 2015. Web.

19 Nov. 2015.

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"Enrollment in California Public Schools by Ethnic Designation, 201415."California

Department of Education. California Department of

Education, 2014. Web. 12 Nov.

2015.
Greenhalgh, Leonard. "When Minorities Become the Majority - The Vision for
2050."

DiversityBusiness.com. DiversityBusiness.com, 2012. Web. 19

Nov. 2015.
Moreno, Gerardo, and Francisco X Gaytan. "Focus on Latino Learners:
Developing a

Foundational Understanding of Latino Cultures to Cultivate

Student Success." Preventing

School Failure, 57.1 (2013): 7.

Onesearch. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

"Self-Reported Detailed Hispanic or Latino Group by Type of Race Response:
2010." US Census
2015.

Bureau. US Census Bureau, 2010. Web. 19 Nov.