Report: More Latinos graduating

By admin January 23, 2013 03:25
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AZLatinos Latino GradA new report by the National Center for Education Statistics found that students who graduated on time increased to 71.4 percent in 2010 from 61.4 percent in 2006, a 10-point gain in four years.  Increased Latino graduates were partly responsible for the overall gain.

 However, Latinos scored a 5 percent dropout rate in the 2009-2010 school year, higher than Whites, Asians, and Pacific Islanders, who posted a 2 percent dropout rate. Blacks dropped out at a 6 percent rate, while Native American dropped out at a 7 percent rate.

 Arizona and Mississippi had the highest dropout rate, at 7.8 and 7.4 percent, respectively. The median state dropout rate was 3.4 percent.

 No one specific reason was given for the trend of higher graduation rates for Latinos, although Education Secretary Arne Duncan pointed out that a tougher job market during the 2008 recession for dropouts may have led to students staying in school. “If you drop out of high school, how many good jobs are there out there for you? None. That wasn’t true 10 or 15 years ago,” Duncan said in an interview with The Associated Press.

 Education experts also pointed out that dramatic reductions in teen pregnancy the past 15 years helps to explain the rise in graduation rates. Pregnancy among Latina students is one of the main reasons for dropping out of school. Latina teens have seen a significant drop in pregnancy statistics. From 2007 to 2011, Latina pregnancy rates dropped 34 percent.

 During the 2009-2010 academic year, some 514,000 students dropped out of high school nationwide. Students were more likely to drop out of high school during their senior year. Males were more likely to drop out than females.

 Duncan said that although the recent trends were hopeful, the higher dropout rates for Latino, Black, and Native American students were still “unsustainably high.” 

By admin January 23, 2013 03:25

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