Nearly half of Texas high school students who earn college credits are Hispanic, study says

Nearly half of all public high school students in Texas who earn college credits before they graduate are Hispanic, a new study found. That makes Texas a national leader in closing the gap between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students who participate in dual credit programs.

Hispanic students in dual credit classes, however, graduate from college at a lower rate compared to peers who were also in those programs, underscoring the need to strengthen the transition from high school to college for students of color.

鈥淲e both have to focus on equalizing access to dual credit and providing dual credit students with the supports they need to go to college and complete college,鈥� John Fink, a researcher with the Community College Research Center, said.

The Community College Research Center used National Student Clearinghouse data to look at high school juniors and seniors in 2015 who were enrolled in a dual credit course and in their first four years out of high school. Researchers selected that particular group of students to study the long term effects of dual credit on educational attainment. The researchers said it鈥檚 the first of its kind to break down dual credit outcomes by race, socioeconomic status and age by state.

The study found Black student participation, meanwhile, has lagged behind. Black students made up 8% of dual credit programs in the state, compared to 13% of Texas high school enrollment, according to a report on dual credit released Tuesday.

When Texas students made plans after high school, about half of dual enrollment students returned to the community college where they took dual credit classes for at least one term, according to the report鈥檚 findings.

The number of dual-credit students in Texas and around the country has ballooned in the past 10 years. Education leaders have seen dual credit programs as a way to encourage students to pursue higher education by giving them a chance to familiarize themselves with a college environment in high school. Earning college credit while still in high school has been linked to a higher educational attainment.

Texas legislators even changed to incentivize dual credit last year. Community colleges now get more money when high school students earn at least 15 college credit hours on their campuses. As part of the new funding system, state lawmakers also created the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer, or FAST, program, which gives community colleges extra money if they to low-income students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch.

In the past year alone, dual credit participation has grown at record numbers, with about 250,000 students taking advantage of the FAST program to take dual credit classes at no cost, Sarah Keyton, the interim commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, said in testimony in front of the Senate Higher Education Committee last month.

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Outcomes are starkly different for those who have that opportunity. High-achieving Black, Latino and lower-income students who do gain access to advanced math classes in high school have better academic outcomes across multiple measures: stronger high school graduation rates, higher GPAs and greater college admission and persistence rates. They were also more likely to attend a highly selective college and earn more STEM credits there, a pathway to landing lucrative jobs in those fields.

Just Equations and The Education Trust released their report Thursday. Together, they analyzed eight years of data following 23,000 ninth graders from 900 private and public schools throughout the country, information collected by the National Center for Education Statistics. The study group was tracked through high school and college starting in 2009. 

Both Ed Trust and Just Equations advocate for educational equality with a focus on children who have been traditionally underserved. Earlier research cited in the report shows Black, Latino and impoverished students, regardless of their capabilities, are less likely to be assigned AP math courses, enroll in STEM majors or attend top-tier colleges than their wealthier, white or Asian peers.

鈥淭his study challenges the notion that access to advanced math courses is purely the byproduct of talent and academic achievement,鈥� said Melodie Baker, national policy director at Just Equations. 鈥淥ur analysis confirmed that all too often, factors such as race, wealth and privilege 鈥� rather than students’ aptitude and proficiency 鈥� can be hidden prerequisites for access to courses that lead to STEM and college opportunity.鈥�

While 46% of high-achieving Asian students, 19% of white students, and 29% of students from high socio-economic backgrounds took college-level AP/International Baccalaureate calculus by the end of high school, just 10% of Black, 15% of Latino and 11% of lower-income high-achievers did the same. 

Race and income disparities in high school graduation rates appear to level off for this high-achieving, underrepresented group when they take advanced math courses: 99% of Asian and white students, 98% of Black students, and 96% of Latino and lower-income students graduated in four years. Four-year high school graduation rates declined among all high-achievers who did not take advanced math classes and gaps opened up along racial and socioeconomic lines, although the drop in graduation rates was starkest for Asian students and least-felt by affluent students.

鈥淲e know that it is so important for students to feel engaged and that their learning experiences are relevant,鈥� said Ivy Smith Morgan, EdTrust鈥檚 director for P12 research and data analytics. 鈥淲hat this conjures for me is the anecdotes about students who are so smart but stop paying attention in class because they are not challenged. They are not getting the opportunities that align with their ability.鈥�

Smith Morgan noted U.S. students’ performance in mathematics as compared to their peers internationally has been highly scrutinized for years, with last week’s release of the latest PISA scores showing unprecedented 13-point declines for American students and an average 15-point loss globally. The U.S., still reeling from COVID learning loss, along with other countries, now ranks 26th in its math scores. Smith Morgan said a failure to mine students’ talents will have dire economic implications. 

鈥淲hat we are talking about is losing a future workforce with the skills, training and technical knowledge we need to fill all of the STEM jobs that will exist 鈥� not the ones we have right now, but the ones we have not even thought of yet,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are shooting ourselves in the foot.鈥� 

The study notes the disparity in opportunity starts well before students enter high school: Just 24% of Black students, 34% of Latino students, and 25% of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds took Algebra I or higher in eighth grade, compared with 39% of white children, 64% of their Asian peers and 57% of students from higher income backgrounds. 

鈥淎nyone who is paying attention knows that our mathematics education systems are deeply inequitable,鈥� said David Kung, director of strategic partnerships at The Charles A. Dana Center in Austin. 鈥淏lack, brown and poor students get shafted when it comes to access, teaching and advising.鈥�

The Dana Center, which seeks to ensure all students have access to excellent math and science education, has been working with several states across the nation as part of its to revamp mathematics curriculum, making equity and student interest a top priority.  

鈥淭his report is another reminder that whenever there are decisions to be made 鈥�  to take algebra in 8th grade, to enroll in an advanced math class, to apply to college, to choose a STEM path 鈥� equity gaps open,鈥� Kung said. 鈥淲e must reform our systems so those critical transitions are smoother, especially for students from groups we have historically under-supported.”

The new study found, too, that high-achieving underserved students who took more challenging high school mathematics coursework often had math teachers who established clear goals and school counselors who set high standards. Such positive influences may have aided in their success. 

Researchers say 74% of Black and 81% of Latino high-achieving students who were enrolled in advanced high school mathematics courses went on to follow a standard process of getting into and staying enrolled at college after high school. 

Not so for those who did not: Only 58% of Black students and 53% of Latino high-achieving students who did not take these classes had that same outcome. Results were similar for students from lower-income backgrounds: 77% of those who took advanced math courses experienced standard college enrollment and persistence versus 53% who did not take more challenging courses.  

The study showed Black and Latino high-achieving students who took advanced math courses in high school had better first-year college GPAs: roughly 0.5 points higher. Lower income students had a 0.6-point gain. 

EdTrust and Just Equations recommends Congress support and incentivize state and district leaders to greatly expand access to challenging coursework in all topics, including math. 

They said, too, that the government should increase funding for whole-child support services that would allow districts to hire an appropriate number of well-trained restorative justice coordinators, school counselors, psychologists and nurses. 

States and districts should also boost professional development efforts and coaching with the goal of reducing bias and incorporating anti-racist mindsets. 

They can also automatically enroll students in higher-level math courses, like the Dallas school system, which moved from an opt-in model to an opt-out policy in the 2019-20 school year. The followed that example: Gov. Abbott, earlier this year, signed that requires the automatic enrollment of children in advanced math based on their test scores, not on a recommendation. 

The Commit Partnership, a Dallas-based nonprofit focused on education, applauded the move. Chelsea Jeffery, its chief regional impact officer, said she looks forward to other districts doing the same, not only changing their policies but providing students with the support necessary to graduate high school ready for college and the workforce. 

鈥淲e celebrate Dallas ISD for their innovative approach to this critical subject area and to policymakers for passing legislation that will benefit our students and community,鈥� she said. 

The study classified a student as high-achieving if they passed 鈥� with an A, B, or C 鈥� Algebra I or higher in middle school. Others who made the cut scored in the highest one-fifth on a math assessment given to students in ninth grade. 

Disclosure: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides financial support to Just Equations, The Education Trust, The Charles A. Dana Center and 麻豆精品.

The University of Texas at El Paso announced Wednesday that it will take a lead role in a new National Science Foundation-funded resource center that will support and strengthen Hispanic-Serving Institutions with their STEM-related grant applications.

The six-year, $7 million grant will establish the Hispanic-Serving Institution Center for Evaluation and Research Synthesis, or HSI-CERS, the nation鈥檚 only center of its kind. The center will work to help institutions better study and evaluate ways to verify and improve the effectiveness of NSF HSI-funded projects.

The center will be part of UTEP鈥檚 Diana Natalicio Institute for Hispanic Student Success. Anne-Marie Nu帽ez, executive director of the Natalicio Institute, is the grant鈥檚 principal investigator. She called the grant a landmark investment that emphasizes the university鈥檚 position as a leading HSI.

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鈥淭his particular grant signals UTEP鈥檚 leadership in research on effective practices to serve Hispanic students,鈥� said Nu帽ez, a leading scholar of HSIs and diversity in science. 鈥淯TEP gets positioned and recognized as a leader in creating knowledge in that area rather than having outsiders create that knowledge. As for the community, it鈥檚 really important that those of us who are on the ground here are creating that knowledge.鈥�

Nu帽ez said the new center will assist other institutions that may lack the human or financial resources, as well as the capacity, to understand what they can do to create more equity in STEM, and more effectively reach students from diverse backgrounds. She added that through this work, UTEP will provide the first portrait of the collective effectiveness of these programs.

According to the NSF, the center will use interdisciplinary efforts to generate a model that tackles complex data through quantitative and qualitative methods. Researchers will develop standardized and comparable techniques to analyze NSF HSI-grant projects. It will create a database that future grantees can use for evaluations and a consistent evaluation framework, as well as offer training on how to use both.

Nu帽ez鈥檚 two HSI-CERS co-principal investigators are Azuri Gonzalez, director of partnerships and operations at the Natalicio Institute, and Amy Wagler, professor of mathematical sciences.

The assessments will help NSF HSI-funded programs that serve Hispanics and other minority students in fields of STEM 鈥� Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The announcement was made on the patio of the Peter and Margaret de Wetter Center before a crowd of about 40 people made up mostly of university administrators, faculty and staff.

The HSI-CERS grant puts UTEP on the national stage alongside the NSF, said Jacob Fraire, president of the ECMC Foundation. Fraire, who has more than 35 years of professional higher education experience, previously served as director of policy and strategy for the Natalicio Institute. He was part of the team that submitted the grant proposal.

He called Nu帽ez an HSI expert who deserves a lot of the credit for the successful application that will make UTEP and the Natalicio Institute a focal point for prospective NSF grantees in regard to proposal evaluations for the next six years.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to submit your proposals to UTEP, and you don鈥檛 have to go to UTEP committees,鈥� Fraire said. 鈥淏ut you certainly will be encouraged to do so because UTEP will have built the kinds of resources that would add value to your project.鈥�

In addition to HSI-CERS, the NSF also named UTEP as one of five institutions that will lead a second related $7 million project focused on building community and collaborations among current and potential HSI awardees. It is the UNIDOS Network Resource Center for Community Coordination, or HSI-CCC. Florida International University is the lead institution. Meagan Kendall, associate professor in UTEP鈥檚 Department of Engineering, Education and Leadership, is one of the co-principal investigators.

Gonzalez said that she looked forward to future collaborations among the institutions through Kendall to expand knowledge of what works and what can be done better.

鈥淭elling the story of Hispanic student impact right is no small feat, but we welcome that challenge because it is a story worth telling and learning from,鈥� Gonzalez said.

Both new centers are part of the NSF HSI Program Network Resource Centers and Hubs.

鈥淏uilding on past investments, these new centers will help NSF achieve its broadening participation goals in STEM by growing and strengthening the education and research support that facilitates student and faculty success at HSIs,鈥� James L. Moore III, NSF assistant director for STEM education, said in a press release.

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But until recently, it remained unclear what impact the decision had on California鈥檚 Chicano students.

This spring, in a published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, scholars Francisca Antman and Kalena Cortes filled the gap with the first-ever quantitative analysis of the case鈥檚 long-run impacts. 

Participating in desegregation, they found, led to a significant increase in educational attainment for Mexican-American students. Those born after the ruling completed nearly a full year of schooling more than a comparison cohort born 10 years prior and were nearly 20% more likely to graduate from high school. In the decades following the case, Chicano students in highly segregated counties were able to cut by more than half the disparity in their schooling outcomes with those of Chicano students in minimally segregated counties.

鈥淲hat we see is really a dramatic rise in educational attainment for Hispanics after the end of de jure segregation,鈥� said Antman, an associate professor of economics at the University of Colorado Boulder. That finding, she noted, held true 鈥減articularly in those areas that we think were most likely to be segregated.鈥�

In California before the Mendez decision, segregating Mexican-American students into separate schools was common practice, driven to a large extent by . Those who advocated for separate schools claimed Hispanic students were unclean, intellectually inferior and lacking English language skills 鈥� even though Mexican-American youth who did not speak Spanish were also segregated.

Today, Latino residents make up of the U.S. population and an even of the nation鈥檚 public school student body. Yet Latino youth continue to be . Analyzing the Mendez decision is key to understanding the present circumstances for Latino students and families, the authors .

With desegregation, Antman explained, 鈥淗ispanic students [began to] have access to white classrooms or schools that they didn’t before鈥� 鈥� meaning more resources and improved facilities. Though exact data on the flow of financial resources does not exist, she and her co-author hypothesize that such shifts may have triggered the outsized benefits for Chicano youth.

At the same time, education outcomes improved for all learners, Mexican-American and white students alike.

鈥淓ducational attainment is rising for all groups,鈥� she said, adding that students nationwide tended to complete more schooling over the time period her study observed.

There is no official record of which areas separated Mexican-American students into separate schools as exists for school segregation in the American South 鈥� posing a major obstacle to research on the topic. That did not stop Antman and Cortes.

鈥淎 lot of times, researchers only pursue questions that they can answer [cleanly with existing data],鈥� said the CU Boulder economist. But 鈥渟ometimes the question is so important that you want to pursue it even if you can’t get the absolute best, clearest answer.鈥�

She and her co-author got around the limitation by using 1940 census data to create a proxy measure for segregation levels. According to historical accounts, areas with the highest share of Hispanics in their population were the locales with the most rampant segregation. The researchers then identified the top quarter of California counties with the highest share of Hispanic residents and compared them to the bottom quarter with the least to represent high- and low-segregation counties.

In another key hurdle, records are also absent on how effectively each school district followed through on the desegregation effort. Implementation varied at the local level with some districts opening separate schools or maintaining segregation in certain grade levels while desegregating others. The authors account for the messy rollout using what鈥檚 called an 鈥渋ntent-to-treat鈥� approach that includes all students in their analysis, regardless of their district鈥檚 follow through on desegregation. The method simply measures the effect of students鈥� exposure to the legal change. If anything, the approach would understate the impacts of integration, the authors explain, by grouping students who experienced desegregation together with those who remained separated.

As with the Brown case, impacts grew over time, Antman and Cortes found. Mexican-American students who were toddlers at the time of Mendez were likely to complete more total years of schooling than those who were in primary school (who in turn were more likely to see higher educational attainment than their older peers). Achievement gaps between Chicano and white students closed over time.

Compared to cohorts that began school before Mendez, those who matriculated after segregation was outlawed were 18.4% more likely to graduate from junior high school and 19.4% more likely to graduate from high school, the analysis revealed.

Fast forward to the current day, and school segregation levels nationwide have 鈥� with a for Latino students, who continue to have than any other racial or ethnic group in the U.S. and have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. With that backdrop, Antman said her results underscore the continued need for integration.

鈥淪ome might might say, 鈥榃ell, would it really matter to desegregate [in the present day]?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭his certainly would suggest that it would matter very much.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 important I learn English so I can have a good job,鈥� Flores said in Spanish.

Flores is one of about 鈥� roughly 20% of the state鈥檚 5.4 million public school students 鈥� who are enrolled in English as a second language classes. He and his two siblings attend Fort Worth Independent School District鈥檚 International Newcomers Academy, which is tailored for students new to the country and who need to learn English.

Students like Flores and his siblings aren鈥檛 alone in their journey. Each year, more people of color, , come to Texas, with nearly 2 million additional Hispanic people calling Texas home over the last decade, according to the 2020 census. Texans of color as a whole accounted for 95% of the .

So the importance of teaching non-English-speaking children has never been higher.

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But the pandemic is threatening what was a fragile area of education to begin with. A recent pre-pandemic suggests that Texas is getting worse at teaching students English, which impacts both their academic success and potential lifetime income.

Across the state, researchers have found that the number of English learners who failed to become proficient in the language after five years of ESL classes is increasing. The study tracked students who entered first grade between 2000 and 2015 to see if they would become proficient 鈥� basically, graduate from ESL 鈥� by the time they reach fifth grade. Those who did not were labeled 鈥渓ong-term English learners.鈥�

For several years, the number of long-term English learners remained steady. But that started to rise after 2008. By the 2014-15 school year, nearly 7 in 10 students who began first grade as English learners in Texas public schools failed to become proficient within five years.

Children need to be English proficient by fifth grade as that gives enough time for intervention, said researcher Lizzy Cashiola.

鈥淓arly on, the study shows that kids who do not reclassify and are likely to begin middle school as an English learner are much more likely to drop out, they鈥檙e much more likely to be retained a grade in high school and and they鈥檙e much less likely to graduate on time,鈥� Cashiola said.

Fellow researcher Daniel Potter said they haven鈥檛 pinpointed an exact reason for the significant rise in students failing to graduate from ESL classes but noted that factors include a lack of funding, teacher shortages and where students live.

鈥淚 don’t know that at this point you鈥檙e going to identify a silver bullet,鈥� Potter said. 鈥淚t is a multipronged issue. Now even having said that, I don鈥檛 mean to suggest there鈥檚 nothing that we can do.鈥�

But again, that path to progress is complicated by the school interruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Potter and Cashiola don鈥檛 yet know the full extent of the pandemic鈥檚 effect on English learners, but they know it hasn鈥檛 made things better.

鈥淪chool may have been one of the few spaces where those students were exposed to an English-majority environment, and COVID just completely evaporated that space,鈥� Potter said.

Cashiola said second graders starting this fall might have an easier time catching up with the learning they lost, but it might be harder for those who are older and were on the cusp of reclassifying.

It鈥檚 no secret that the shift to virtual learning and the uncertainty the pandemic brought have impacted students and resulted in skill gaps, especially for poorer students and students of color.

Faiha Al-Atrash, parent coordinator at International Newcomers Academy, said the last year was a massive challenge for kids at the school because in-person learning is crucial for students who are new to the country and are learning the language.

鈥淭he teacher is talking to them, they can see their reaction [and] see if they really understood,鈥� Al-Atrash said.

Teachers have encountered several problems with virtual learning, such as students not logging on to their computers, or logging in but not paying attention. The distractions brought on by the pandemic have taken a toll on student learning and kids鈥� ability to retain information, she said. Parents of ESL students also are not able to help their kids because they don鈥檛 know the language. This was an issue before, but the pandemic made it worse, especially if parents couldn鈥檛 navigate the technology.

Flores鈥� father, Jorge Flores Gutierrez, said in Spanish that he can鈥檛 help his son with his homework, and attending classes in person is the best way for his son to learn the language because he is able to practice speaking with others.

Lotus Hoey, an ESL teacher at Pershing Middle School in Houston, said a return to in-person classes this fall has been the toughest on her English learners. They have been out of touch for more than a year, and it鈥檚 clear that not having a structure eroded their English-speaking skills.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have the stamina because they鈥檝e been in their bed learning in their pajamas,鈥� Hoey said.

Hoey said she and her colleagues are just trying to go slower with the kids so they can catch up.

Ovidia Molina, Texas State Teachers Association president, said the problems with attaining proficiency within that five-year window can be tracked before the pandemic.

As an ESL teacher for 11 years, she felt like there was pressure to make these kids pass a test instead of giving thoughtful instruction to help them succeed.

鈥淚 taught seventh and eighth graders, my seventh and eighth graders were at first and second grade level,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way that we can move them from first and second grade level to seventh grade levels.鈥�

Molina says that ESL programs need more funding, smaller classroom sizes and goals that shouldn鈥檛 be contingent on passing a test.

Earlier this year, Texas lawmakers passed . The measure calls for educators to come up with a more strategic plan to improve bilingual education by looking for ways to increase the number of bilingual teachers and dual-language programs, and have educators come up with better ways to identify students who need to be enrolled.

David Feigen, policy associate for Texans Care For Children, said dual-language programs, where students learn both in their native language and English, must increase as students who are in these programs tend to be more academically successful. Only about 1 in 5 English learners are enrolled in such programs.

Before the pandemic, only 1 in 12 bilingual students were college ready by the time they graduated, Feigen said. The pandemic threatens to make things worse if this law doesn鈥檛 pan out.

Feigen said giving these students a quality education will help not only them but also the state as a bilingual workforce represents a valuable piece of society.

When the next legislative session comes around, lawmakers need to have a plan and a timeline to execute what the law is intended to do. Feigen said for things to even get going, it鈥檚 imperative that Texas recruits, retains and grows bilingual teachers.

鈥淭exas is a bilingual state,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are a state that welcomes immigrants of different backgrounds.鈥�

More bilingual teachers are sorely needed, said Andy Canales, Texas鈥� executive director at Latinos for Education. Canales said having more teachers of color enhances the learning of ESL students. He also pointed out that the pandemic revealed how economic inequities play a large part in learning success.

Many English learners live in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and maybe don鈥檛 have access to after-school programs and other learning opportunities that others have, he said.

鈥淎s a society, we need to figure out how do we give our most vulnerable students access to enrichment and learning opportunities,鈥� Canales said.

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