Latinos and Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap
Latino schooling in the U.S. has historically been characterized by high dropout rates and low college completion rates1. According to a national survey of 2,012 Latinos ages 16 and older by the Pew Hispanic Center, nearly three-quarters (74%) of all 16- to 25-year-old survey respondents cut their education short because of the need to support a family.
More interesting is the gap between US born latinos and foreign born latinos. 29% of foreign born Latinos, ages 18 to 25, plan to get a bachelor’s degree, where as 60% of native-born young Latinos plan to attend college. 64% of the foreign born Latinos say they send remittances to family members in other countries, compared with just 21% of their U.S. born counterparts.2 This characterizes the financial commitments that limit their ability to pursue more education, even though they see college education as vital for success.
Other reasons for not continuting education include:
- 49% say their English skills are limited.
- 42% say they didn’t like school.
- 40% say they cannot afford to go to school.
- 39% say they don’t need more education for the career they want.
- 21% say their grades were not high enough.
You can read the full report here.