Fragile Futures of High-Achieving Latino Students.

Many high-achieving Latino students miss the opportunity to succeed academically because their needs are poorly understood, according to a new report from ETS and a University of California researcher. As a result, these students’ academic futures are left “hanging by a thin thread of hope.”

The report “Fragile Futures: Risk and Vulnerability Among Latino High Achievers,” was written by Patricia Gándara, a professor of education at the University of California, Davis. Using two national databases and including personal vignettes of high-achieving Latino students, Gándara’s report demonstrates how high-achieving Latino students’ personal and academic profiles differ from their non-Latino peers, and how these differences can result in academic risk and vulnerability. The report concludes with a series of recommendations including early identification and nurturance of the strengths of Latino students who are performing well in school early on.

“The achievement gap is not just a phenomenon that exists at the mid-range of scores,” explains Gándara, a leading expert in minority language instruction and Latino education issues. “It is a significant feature of achievement at the upper score ranges as well. It is imperative that interventions designed to close the achievement gap attend to the needs of the entire academic spectrum of Latino students.”

According to Gándara, factors such as language, culture and immigration status are all issues that can greatly affect these students’ motivation and ultimate achievement. For example, research shows that unlike other high-achieving students, Latinos who demonstrate high academic ability — especially those of Mexican and Puerto Rican ancestry:

are not as likely to come from economically and educationally advantaged backgrounds
attend schools that are less likely to offer rigorous curricula and Advanced Placement Program® classes
have lower percentages of qualified teachers and fewer resources overall
To address these shortcomings, Gándara recommends:

– earlier intervention to help identify academic strengths that can be nurtured among students who may not have the resources to reach their potential otherwise

– schools building on the strengths that students bring to the classroom, including their home language skills

-schools placing special attention on intensive academic-English instruction

-schools and programs finding ways to better target and distribute resources to these students

-developing special interventions that help these students gain access to rigorous college-preparatory courses and integrating those interventions into schools

-providing frank information to both students and parents about the real costs of college, and the various means of financing it

-offering information to all Latino students who have demonstrated the ability to gain admission to four-year colleges and universities, and their parents, about the benefits and liabilities of attending nearby, less-demanding institutions
cultivating counselors who come from the same background as their students and who understand and can communicate with the students’ parents

“If we begin with the assumption that superior talent exists among all groups of students, but that it must be nurtured if it is to thrive, then the work ahead is clear,” says Gándara. “We must provide high-achieving Latino students with similar educational opportunities available to other students, as well as with the personal and social support they need. All are necessary for converting the thin thread of hope held by these students into a sturdy lifeline to the future.”

To view full report CLICK below (Adobe Acrobat Reader required0:

http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICFRAGFUT.pdf