Latino Immigrant Student

The current trend in lack of Latino students attending college combines a lack of college readiness with a deficiency in resources to prepare this student population. Increasingly, higher education scholars are accepting these deficiencies as roadblocks to college access, and are looking to preparation programs, parent educational resources, and transition programs as subjects worthy of consideration. There are many different challenges being faced by this population, a population that is the fastest growing minority population in the country. Educators, parents, policy makers, student affairs professionals, and institutional leaders all play a vital role in the advocacy of Latino students on their journey towards admission and acclimation

The cost of a college tuition has dramatically risen since the late 1980’s, and left the country in a staggering trillion dollar student debt*. Citizens have been affected in having to pay massive fees and finally resorting to loans or having to leave school. But, for immigrants the cost of higher education is different. Recently, In state tuition for immigrant students was granted to various states such as New York, California and even Florida; which lowered the cost to a group of students called Dreamers (Bousquet 2015). The Dreamers are a group of students who have been given amnesty and the right to pursue a higher education. Being a Dreamer or student immigrant does not mean receiving a full ride to college, nor does it mean having the

In an article which proves the barriers limiting success for immigrants, Zenen Jaimes Perez explains that undocumented immigrants’ “path to higher education remains difficult at best, and that few of them actually complete a post-secondary education.” Although these immigrants are often times talented enough to complete a post-secondary education program, there are multiple barriers that immigrants deal with that limit their success. In the case that an immigrant is undocumented, many state colleges decline to give them the in state tuition discount. As the majority private colleges are not cheaper than state schools, undocumented immigrants are commonly unable to pay

After coming across the article “The Moral Absurdity of Denying Financial Aid to Undocumented Students” in The Chronicle of Higher Education it became apparent that the United States has not come as far as once thought. Currently people living in the U.S. are living in a society where it is required for youth to have K-12 schooling regardless of their legal status yet the U.S. is denying these same youth access to higher education because of their legal status. How is the U.S. supposed to grow as a country if they are holding back groups from succeeding? This particular issue of excluding groups can be seen as a reoccurring theme throughout history. This issue is seen through making certain groups go through hoops when applying

Georgetown University Law Center ‘s reports show that immigrant children without legal status are no longer permitted to enroll in schools in the U.S. They are also denied access to vital educational resources. This report by the researchers of the center reveals that many immigrant students have faced long delays and have been turned away from schools.

OTL is helpful in recognizing the importance of context, to better understand the manner in which college preparation occurs for all students, across all achievement levels (Walsh, Yamamura, Griffin, & Allen, 2009). Both frameworks examine the question surrounding the depth of college preparation and college knowledge as it relates to high school

Conley (2007, 2008) defined college-readiness as students successfully making the transition from high school to the college environment equipped to manage the demands of college without remediation. To meet the needs of the global economy a vast range of skills are needed (Brand et al., 2013). Conley (2007, 2008) described four key components upon which college-readiness is built: (a) key cognitive knowledge, (b) key content knowledge, (c) academic behaviors, and (d) contextual skills and knowledge. Cognitive knowledge consists of students having the capability to analyze, interpret, and problem solve. With respect to content knowledge, students must have key content knowledge to be considered college-ready (Conley, 2007, 2008). Academic behaviors are noncognitive behaviors such as time management skills and study skills that require students to have self-control in a college environment (Conley, 2007, 2008). For students with disabilities, focusing on the noncognitive aspects of college-readiness is critical (Brand et al., 2013). Lastly, for students to be college-ready and successful, they need contextual skills and knowledge to apply and acculturate in the unknown world of college (Conley, 2007, 2008). However, as noted in Barnes and Slate (2011), in the State of Texas, college-readiness indicators were specific to the following standardized assessments: (a) Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, (b) SAT, and (c)

On November 1, 2016, I interviewed my good friend Miguel Rodriguez after eating copious amounts of “al pastor” at our favorite Taco truck. I interviewed Miguel because he is a strong individual with solid morals and a community organizer in his hometown of Ventura California. Miguel is 32 years old and is considered a non-traditional student at UCLA, we both graduated in June 2016. I am also considered a non-traditional student except I am right at the minimum of the category. Miguel’s years of hard work as a community organizer make him the ideal candidate for an interview because he delivers a unique perspective on education. Furthermore, his narrative encompasses all six forms of capital outlined in “Whose Culture has Capital” (Yosso 2005). Since Miguel and I are both non-traditional students we both do not fall into the categories established in the Latino educational pipeline (Perez-Huber, et. al. 2015). Sure, we may not have finished college in four years following high school, but we did get those degrees eventually. Furthermore, there is implicit racism in studies like the one conducted by UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC). It implies that Latinos need to be more like Whites and it makes Latinos like Miguel and I, that do not complete college in the “standard” four years, to feel ashamed of ourselves. However, I agree with most of the recommendations from that article, it is the statistics that I take offense with which hinders credibility.

How can one discern if they are “college ready”? GPAs and challenging high school coursework can predict academic potential (Garton, Dyer, & King, 2000; Komarraju, Ramsey, & Rinella, 2013; Schmitt et al., 2009), but there are growing concerns that scores cannot reveal nonacademic factors in college success (citation). One problem with the college readiness research is that is that it “appears to exist in pockets of largely independent conversations under a number of labels” (Arnold, Lu, & Armstrong, 2012, p. 3). The many stakeholders and researchers are not communicating and collaborating much. High school teachers and college professors operate in relative isolation, and the standards for college readiness can be understood very differently.

The current study examined participation in a rigorous high school curriculum and the corresponding outcomes related to college enrollment, persistence, and graduation. Because participation in high rigor college preparatory courses is related to college success, it is expected that students participating in courses with high rigor would also have a greater likelihood of enrolling in college immediately after high school, persisting in college through the second year and graduating from college within six years after graduating from high school as compared to

Community college is the first step of higher education for millions of students in the country; both traditional, students entering college directly after high school, as well as nontraditional, referring to students entering college as older students. Many of these students find themselves, much to their surprise, placed in either an English or math developmental class. The National Center for Educational Statistics reports that as many as 68 percent of students entering a community college are placed in at least one developmental course (NCES). Shockingly, many of these students come from high schools where they graduated with an ‘A’ or ‘B’ average. These traditional students ' course of study, whether they are recommended to enroll in college level classes are required to enroll in developmental classes, is based on their ACT or SAT scores. Nontraditional students who have been out of high school for a while are required to take a placement test that decides what kind of class they are placed into, either developmental or college level. Many non-traditional students who are placed into developmental classes often score right under the cutoff score, leaving the question open as to if a simple refresher course would allow them to test into a college level class. These practices were put into place as a way to test students in order to see if they were able to demonstrate mastery of skills they were supposed to have learned in high school. The developmental courses

Only 39% of the 2014 ACT-tested graduates have a strong likelihood of experiencing success in entry-level college courses. With the push to improve the college and career readiness of U.S. students, it is incumbent that teaching be done to a higher standard and that more students enroll in the core curriculum. Additionally, the rigor of the instruction within the core curriculum must be improved. All students would benefit from systematic guidance and feedback regarding their academic progress beginning early in the educational process. According to ACT (2014) research, younger students who take rigorous curricula are more prepared to graduate from high school college or career ready, and “the level of academic achievement that students attain by 8th grade has a larger impact on their college and career readiness by the time they graduate from high school than anything that happens academically in high school” (ACT, 2008).

Students in today’s society are not adequately prepared in high school to enter and take on the challenges of college. Yet, millions of high school graduates dive right in because that is what they are expected to do. We are setting them up for failure by having this unrealistic expectation that students can succeed unprepared. According to The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, nearly 60% of all first-time college students in the United States discover that despite being fully eligible to attend college, they are not ready for postsecondary studies.

Research shows that parent support positively influences their children’s academic motivation (Alfaro, Umana-Taylor, & Bamaca, 2006), performance, and aspirations for themselves (Benner, 2007; Percy Calaff, 2009). This is especially important for the Latino population because according to 2010 Census Bureau, more than 50 percent of the total population increase in the U.S. was due to the rise in the Hispanic population (Ennis, 2011). Although the overall dropout rates have decreased, the dropout rate for Hispanics still remains to be the highest among other populations (Pyne & Means, 2013). Therefore, it is important to understand how immigrant Latino Parents, their culture, and social underpinnings affect this population in American society.

Today, the most urgent challenge facing the American educational system has a Latino appearance. Although Latinos are the most rapidly growing ethnic minority in our country, they lag far behind academically (Gandara & Contreras, 2009). These growing numbers of students of minority and mixed ethnicities need not only English language resources, but also cultural support and advocates from their public schools who understand their issues and are a voice for changes that are needed (Reyes, Scribner, & Scribner, 1999). In order for schools to educate all children, the relationship between the student, school, parent and community is of utmost importance. Schools can learn more about these students and their families by strengthening the relationships