1. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007795/Achievement-gap-Hispanic-
white-students-unchanged-decades.html#ixzz1QJZfjpWy
'Sobering' report shows education achievement gap between
Hispanics and whites remains unchanged in two decades
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:15 PM on 24th June 2011
The Hispanic-white educational achievement gap has remained
wide over the past two decades, according to a new report by
the Department of Education's statistical centre that a
Department statement calls "sobering."
The report released on Thursday by the National Centre for
Educational Statistics showed that since the 1990s, scores in math
and reading for Hispanic students have increased but the gap
between Hispanic and white students on the National Assessment
of Educational Progress has persisted.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said: 'Race and ethnicity
shouldn't be factors in the success of any child in America.

2. Little change: While academic scores have risen, the gap between white and
Hispanic students remains, a new survey shows
'Hispanic students face grave educational challenges that are
hindering their ability to pursue the American dream.'
The NCES compared data on the achievement gap between
Hispanic and white public school students in grades 4 and 8 at the
national and state levels over the past two decades to 2009, the
most recent assessment year, Reuters reports.
The national average of achievement gaps between Hispanic
and white students at grades 4 and 8 in mathematics and reading
is roughly 20 points on the 500-point NAEP scale, according to the
report.

3. Comprehensive: The National Centre for Educational Statistics covered most
states and spanned nearly decades
Hispanics are the fastest-growing population in the United States,
and Hispanic students are now the largest minority group in U.S.
schools.
From 1990 to 2009, the national Hispanic student population
increased from six per cent to 22 per cent at grade 4, and from
seven per cent to 21 per cent at grade 8, according to the report.
Pew Hispanic Center Associate Director Mark Lopez said that by
their projections, Hispanics will comprise 30 per cent of the nation's
population by 2050.

4. According to Lopez, one of every five of those at school-going
age is Latino.
'The number one issue Latinos are concerned about is education -
above jobs, health care, and immigration," said Mr Lopez, noting a
Pew survey from fall 2010.
Five states and districts had smaller-than-average achievement
gaps in both subjects and grades: Department of Defense
Education Activity schools, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri and
Wyoming.
Slowly improving: The study concentrated on students in grades 4 and 8 and
focused largely on reading and mathematics

5. Two states - Connecticut and California - had a gap larger than
the nation for both grades in math, and for grade 4 in reading.
Delia Pompa, senior vice president for programs for the National
Council for La Raza, said that such factors as poverty, low
expectations and language hit Hispanic students hard and
contribute to the persistence of the achievement gap.
The NCLR is the largest Latino advocacy organization in the
country.
'We don't have a choice as a nation," said Miss Pompa.
'As this population is larger and then also becomes a larger part of
the workforce, it's important for everybody that these children be
educated well and be prepared to be productive workers and
citizens.'

7. Geography lesson: The study broke down the results in states
The report included just short of all 50 states at each grade and
subject.
Some states, like West Virginia, did not have enough Hispanic
students for a reliable sample.
In other states, the Hispanic public school student population has
surpassed that of whites.
In California, the District of Columbia, New Mexico, Texas and
Arizona, Hispanic public school students outnumber white public
school students for one or both of the surveyed grades.

9. Growing population: The percentages the increase in Hispanic students who are
now the largest minority group in U.S. schools
The report also compared data for specific groups such as those
eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
Over 70 per cent of Hispanic students at grades 4 and 8 are
eligible for the NSLP, as compared to less than 30 per cent of white
students.
The gap between Hispanic and white students eligible for the NSLP
has also grown smaller since 2003, but the gap between Hispanic
students eligible and not eligible for NSLP is smaller than that
between the same groups of white students.
'Low Hispanic education attainment levels aren't just a problem for
the Latino community," said Juan Sepulveda, director of the White
House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. 'Every
American has a stake in this.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007795/Achievement-
gap-Hispanic-white-students-unchanged-decades.html#ixzz1QJZfjpWy