Latino college graduation rates fall short of national average

Even though the number of Latino students enrolling in K-12 U.S. schools is growing at a faster rate than any other minority group, new data by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center shows that Hispanic students are having a much more difficult time graduating from college than their counterparts. The College Completion Agenda: Latino Edition, done with support of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), found that the college completion rate for Latino students was 19.2 percent, which falls far behind the national rate of 41.1 percent.

“This report is a call to action,” said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board. “Our nation will not become number one again in college completion unless we commit ourselves to giving these students the support they need to achieve their full potential. This study demonstrates that our students’ ability to succeed directly impacts our nation’s ability to thrive economically and socially.”

Increasing Latino college completion rates is vital to the nation reaching its education benchmarks, including the stated goal of having at least 55 percent of U.S. 25- to 34-year-olds earn some form of a post-secondary degree by the year 2025.

“Increasing Latino college completion is critical to meeting the nation’s goals of educational attainment and these publications highlight not only the current condition but offer states a guide of policy efforts to improve Latinos’ educational progress to completion,” said Deborah Santiago, co-founder and vice president of Excelencia in Education.

The study’s authors outlined 10 recommendations for ways in which, they believe, the U.S. education system can boost college completion rates for Latino K-12 students. The suggestions include:

• Creating a voluntary preschool education system that is universally available to children from low-income families.
• Improving middle school and high school college counseling programs.
• Implementing the best research-based dropout prevention programs.
• Aligning the K–12 education system with international standards and college admission requirements.
• Clarifying and simplifying the admission process.
• Providing more need-based grant assistance while also simplifying and making the financial aid process more transparent.
• Keeping college costs affordable.
• Providing postsecondary opportunities as a necessary component to completing adult education programs.

Advocates for the Latino community say they are aware of the need to improve academic achievement and completion rates within the group. Officials with La Raza stress that the latest data will act as inspiration for continued work toward reaching that goal.

“Latinos understand well the importance of higher education and for many it is the most accessible method to making the ‘American dream’ a reality,” said Delia Pompa, NCLR vice president for education. “At NCLR, we are working hard to change the trend indicated in this policy guide so that more young people in the Latino community have the opportunity to attend college."