Increased interest in science, engineering and math among Latino High School Students.

The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) and the National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA) announced the results of a new study, which found Latino high school students are increasingly more interested in math, science and engineering subjects with a decrease of interest in technology. The trend was presented during the Latino Leaders Network Issues Hour in Washington, D.C., hosted by ExxonMobil, HHF and Latino Leaders Network. A panel discussion immediately followed the research findings with the theme of Latinos and S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

“The good news is that Latino youth have a rising interest in subjects dealing with science, math and engineering,” said Jose Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of HHF. “However, it is a call to action for Hispanic-serving organizations like ours, educational institutions and associations and corporate America’s industry leaders, like ExxonMobil, to collectively transition this ‘interest’ into a college education with a major in the S.T.E.M. areas, and then provide career opportunities in these important fields. With baby-boomers soon leaving the workforce, America needs to invest in the next generation and this study shows the burgeoning Latino community is a great place to start.”

Studies have shown that the United States will face a critical shortage of engineers, scientists and other technically-trained workers in the near future. The following trends illustrate the key findings of the study conducted by NRCCUA, which gathers information on high school students’ attitudes and opinions on educational plans and discipline-specific issues from nearly 5.5 million students in over 20,000 public and private high schools nationally. A sample of more than 50,000 high school students is used for every subgroup, and each subgroup is defined by a combination of graduation year and ethnicity.

Key findings include:

— Hispanic students interested in overall S.T.E.M. subjects by graduation year demonstrated an increase of 30% in the last seven years: 21.3% in 2004; 23.5% in 2005; 24.7% in 2006; 25.2% in 2007; 25.1% in 2008; 25.6% in 2009; and 27.6% in 2010.

— Number of Hispanic students interested in Science nearly doubled in the last seven years: 4.4% in 2004; 5.9% in 2005; 6.4% in 2006; 7.4% in 2007; 7.2% in both 2008 and 2009; and 8.0% in 2010.

— However, Hispanic students interested in Technology decreased by 45% over an eight year span.

— In Engineering, Hispanic students fluctuated but resulted in the same approximate number after eight years: 9.9% in 2003; followed by 9.3% in 2004; 9.7% in 2005; 10.0% in 2006; 9.7% in 2007; 10.6% in 2008; 10.4% in 2009; and 10.0% in 2010. And although the engineering number did not rise significantly, when compared with Caucasians and African Americans, Latinos showed more interest in engineering (see graph).

— Hispanic students’ interest in Math increased more than five times in eight years: 1.1% in 2003, 2004; 1.3% in 2005; 1.5% in 2006; 1.9% in 2007; 2.1% in 2008; 4.0% in 2009; and 5.6% in 2010.

“These results show a dramatic reduction in interest as students move through the secondary education program,” said Ryan Munce, assistant vice president of educational research at NRCCUA. “This solidifies the need to provide more encouragement and support to these specific students earlier than we had previously thought.”

Touching on these key findings, panelists raised important questions on how to bridge the gap between Hispanic high school students’ interest and college achievement. The panel included: Dr. Gerald Wheeler, president, National Science Teachers Association; Eletha Flores, 2006 National Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards recipient and student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Dr. Ines Cifuentes, internationally-respected seismologist and Hispanic Heritage Awards honoree for Math and Science; John Winn, national director of training and incentive programs, National Math and Science Initiative; and Moira Lenehan-Razzuri, legislative assistant to Representative Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX).

Following the Issues Hour, ExxonMobil co-hosted a Latino Leaders Youth Luncheon in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of HHF’s Youth Awards, which featured the 2007 National Youth Awardees, past Hispanic Heritage awardees and actor Wilmer Valderrama.

The Hispanic Heritage Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization which identifies, inspires, promotes and prepares Latino leaders through national leadership, educational, and workforce programs. For more information please visit http://www.HispanicHeritage.org>