Hispanic Student Achievement Analysis

Improving the Achievement of Hispanic Students

Summary

In today’s American school systems, Hispanics are among the most at-risk in the student population. They are less likely to finish high school and even fewer go on to enroll in college, let alone graduate from a higher education program. The number of Hispanic students is constantly growing, especially in urban schools, and most of those schools are desperately trying to create programs and systems to help accommodate the large number of English language learners. Those students’ scores are drastically lower than English speaking students. A study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that three out of four 8th graders are not able to pass a simple math test that includes
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I simply want to be a teacher that makes a difference in the school. I want to be a positive influence, not only on my students but on other staff in the school as well. This article explained many great points that those six schools stand by in creating a successful environment for their Hispanic students and I, as a teacher leader, want to take those suggestions and use them and create an environment in my future school that is welcoming and accepting to English language learners. I truly believe that every child has great potential, they just need the proper education to be able to reach out and achieve their goals. As an elementary education major, reading about people who are determined to make a positive change in our schools is restorative to my hope for our students’ futures. The statistics in this article are eye-opening. I did not realize how small of a percentage of Hispanic students were actually successful in testing, graduating high school, and moving on to college. I also had never thought about how few Hispanic teachers there are. Having only white teachers in the school minimizes the chance for Hispanic students to find a connection or a role model. In action two, the article suggested that the school could invite Hispanic graduates back as encouragement to the students. Reading about that sparked an idea in my head that a legitimate program could be established where dual-language Hispanic students in upper grades could make weekly visits to the lower grades to help with homework or class time. It would be similar to the Study Buddy program or the Chums program where a student in a higher grade serves as a one-on-one mentor to a struggling English language learner in a lower grade, whether that be Kindergarten or 10th grade. I know that if a school has enough dedication and staff members who genuinely want to see a