1. Educational Crisis:
Latino Poverty &
the Achievement Gap
Carlos F. Camargo, PhDCarlos F. Camargo, PhD
The Tech Museum of InnovationThe Tech Museum of Innovation
8 May 20098 May 2009
Presentation based on research by Patricia GPresentation based on research by Patricia Gáándara, UC Davisndara, UC Davis

2. California’s Demographics
• 48% of K-12 students are Latino
• 52% of K-2 students are Latino
• Around 2010, the majority of all California’s
students will be Latino

3. Who are Latino Children?
• They are largely, but not exclusively, of
Mexican origin
• 60% of Latinos are native born; 40%
immigrants
• Most immigrants are English learners, but
most English learners are NOT immigrants.
At least 2/3 of Latino EL students are born in
the U.S.

4. Howare Latino students faring
academically?
Let’s look at the data…

5. Percent Kindergartners Scoring at Highest
and Lowest Quartiles, Math & Reading,
1998 and 2000
Ethnic Group Highest
Quartile
Lowest
Quartile
Highest
Quartile
Lowest
Quartile
White 30 18 32 18
Asian 39 13 38 13
Black 15 34 10 39
Latino 15 42 14 40
Nat. Am 9 57 9 50
Source: West, Denton, Germino-Hausken, 2000, America’s Kindergartners, NCES

6. Percent Grade 4 Students Scoring Proficient +
NAEP Reading and Math, By Ethnicity, 2005
Ethnicity Reading Math
White 41 47
Asian 42 55
Black 13 13
Latino 16 19
Native Am 18 21

7. Percent Grade 8 Students Scoring Proficient +
NAEP Reading & Math 2005, By Ethnicity
Ethnicity Reading Math
White 39 39
Asian 40 47
Black 12 9
Latino 15 13
Native Am 17 14

8. The Widening Gap: Percent of 25-29 year olds
with BA or higher, by Ethnicity
Ethnicity 1975 1985 1995 2000 2005
White 24 24 29 34 34
African
American
11 12 15 18 18
Latino 9 11 9 10 11

9. Is This a Temporary ProblemDue
to Immigration?
• Each generation of Latinos is improving in
schooling and income
• But immigrants often out-perform native born
• Progress stalled at 3rd generation
• Proportionately fewer Latinos go to college
than in 1976
• Drop out rates are extraordinarily high, even
for native born Latinos--up to 50%

10. Is Language the Problem?
• More than half of Latinos are English
speakers, but as a group they perform very
poorly
• Learning English does not close the
achievement gaps with White English
speakers

11. Why Do Latinos Fare
So Poorly?
• No single predictor more powerful than
parental education
• Isolated by SES, language, and ethnicity in
the poorest schools
• Entering into a post-industrial economy--no
upward mobility
• Very weak social safety net
• Huge increase in cost of college, decrease in
financial aid

12. Poverty
• U.S. has highest child poverty rates among
wealthy nations; Latinos are the most poor
• 28% of Latinos under 18 live in poverty in the
U.S. (14% of White students)
• One third (31%) of Latinos under 6 are poor
• 73% of all Latino 4th graders qualify for
free/reduced price lunch

13. Poverty in California
• 27% of Latino children live in poverty
• Three times the number of White children
living in poverty
• More than half of all poor children in
California are Latino

14. Parent Education Level
K-12 Students, 2003
Ethnicity Less than
High School
High School Bachelor’s degree
or Higher
White 4.3 95.7 39.0
Black 12.3 87.7 16.4
Latino 39.4 60.6 10.9

15. Mean SAT Score by Ethnicity and
Income, 2004
<$35,000 >$70,000
Latino 857 1009
White 984 1076

16. What are the Consequences?
• If California does not increase the college-
going rate of Latinos:
– It is projected to lo se 11% per capita income
between 2000 and 2020
– This compares to a 30% incre ase in per capita
income between 1980 and 2000 [NCHEMS]

17. What to do?
• Address Latino poverty
• Offer high quality preschool + interventions
• Reduce isolation in school and
neighborhoods
• Stop immigrant harassment--all children are
guaranteed schooling
• Provide highly qualified, bilingual teachers
• Fund the college education of Latino (and
other poor) students