Hispanic Education

Background of Hispanic/Latino People

Some Hispanics/Latinos, although certainly not a majority, are not immigrants. Hispanos in New Mexico, and many Hispanics living near the Mexican border in southern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, are ancient residents of the land their families settled long before the U.S. became a nation. [Page 404]Most Hispanics/Latinos, however, have immigrated to the United States in the last three decades. Although nearly half of all Hispanics/Latinos live in just two states—California and Texas—recent patterns show the greatest percentage increases in states without a history of major immigration, such as North Carolina, Arkansas, Kansas, and Nevada.

Prior educational experiences for each immigrant generation vary. Immigrants come from different nations, and the sociohistorical context of their native country affects how they respond to schooling. The major national origins of Hispanics in 2005 were 64.0 percent Mexican (constituting 9.3 percent of the entire U.S. population), 15.2 percent Caribbean (9.0 percent Puerto Rican, 3.5 percent Cuban, and 2.7 percent Dominican), 7.4 percent Central American (3 percent from El Salvador), 5.5 percent South American (1.7 percent from Colombia), and about 8 percent from elsewhere.

Hispanics in the United States are predominantly in the lower economic groups. In 2004, 29 percent of all Hispanic children (and nearly 50 percent of children in single-mother families) lived below the poverty line. The per capita income for Hispanics was $12,111, which was only 56 percent of the $21,587 per capita income for Whites. Almost 60 percent of Hispanic fourth graders were in public schools in which more than half of the students were eligible for free and reduced-price lunch.

The Spanish language is a primary social factor. According to 2005 data, in three states (Texas, California, and New Mexico), nearly 30 percent of the entire population age five or older speaks Spanish at home; in the United States as a whole, that figure is 12 percent. It is also true that in half of the states, Spanish is spoken at home by less than 5 percent of the people. Only 14 percent of Hispanics speak English poorly or not at all.

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