Patricia Gándara

A Study of High School Puente: What We Have Learned about Preparinglatino Youth for Postsecondary Education

This article reports on a 4-year study of High School Puente’s impact on program participants. Data include approximately 1,000 Puente students and 1,000 non-Puente students from18 high schools to test the impact of the programon aspirations, attitudes toward school, and preparation for college. Data were also collected on 75 matched pairs of Puente and non-Puente students to test the impact of the Puente program on GPA, preparation for college, attitudes and aspirations, and college going. The study found significant differences between Puente and non-Puente students on attitudes toward school, preparation for college, aspirations to attend college, and percentage of students going on to 4-year colleges. Puente students reported going on to 4-year colleges at nearly double the rate of non-Puente students with the same grades and test scores. The article discusses aspects of the programthat probably helped to account for these outcomes.

Strengthening the Academic Pipeline Leading to Careers in Math, Science, and Technology for Latino Students.

Because Latino students begin school far behind their non-Hispanic peers, moving more of them into the math and science pipeline will require a broad strategy that begins with preliteracy skills. This article reviews existing data on the costs of effective intervention and suggests that we would have to invest from 1.5 to 2 times what we now invest per pupil to provide a seamless web of support to begin to even the playing field for Latino students.

Measuring the Outcomes of LEP Programs: Test Scores, Exit Rates, and Other Mythological Data

This study of test data, reclassification, and exit rates of LEP students was part of a larger study, commissioned by the California Legislature, to compare the effectiveness of a range of language assistance programs in educating the states growing limited English proficient student population. This study sought to answer the questions, what is the relative rate of academic progress and second language acquisition across program models and which model is most successful in exiting LEP students into the English language mainstream? On the basis of data collected in exemplary schools in California, the researchers conclude that in asking about exit rates, policymakers are essentially asking the wrong question, and in asking about students’ academic progress and English language acquisition by program type, they are asking a question that even the “best” schools are ill-equipped to answer. Recommendations are offered for collecting data that would be more meaningful for teachers as well as researchers.

Year-Round Schooling as an Avenue to Major Structural Reform.

This article reports on a study that sought to experiment with multiple education reforms in the context of an extended school calendar year. Three schools, with very different characteristics, undertook to extend their school year to approximately 223 days (from the previous 180 days), reorganize funding to provide more days of schooling for many students, and increase the length of the work year, and consequently the salaries, of teachers. All three schools were able to demonstrate increases in academic achievement, a high level of parent and teacher satisfaction, and a cost-effective use of existing school facilities. Implications for education reform and year-round schooling are discussed.

Introduction: The Puente Project: Issues and Perspectives on Preparing latino Youth for Higher Education

LATINOS ARE now the nation’s largest minority group, and in California they compose the largest portion of the school age population, about 42% of the total. Yet Latinos are the least likely of all ethnic groups to attend college and obtain a degree. This fact spells potentially dire consequences for the social and economic fabric of the nation. For example, in the state of California, the sixth largest economy in the world and a major economic engine for the country, 33% of white workers hold a B.A. degree, but only 8% of Latino workers are similarly educated (López, Ramirez, & Rochin, 1999). The next generation ofworkers in that statewill be overwhelminglyLatino, andwhites will contribute a minority of the workforce. In an increasingly technological society, the projections are that there simply will not be enough low-skilled jobs available for under-educated workers, and the greatest employment needs will be for well-trained, well-educated individuals, unlike the Latino population of today. At the same time, great ethnic disparities are evident in the colleges and universities in California and elsewhere. More than 30% of Asian high school graduates qualify to attend the University of California, as do about 13% of white graduates, but less than 4% of Latinos meet the stringent entrance criteria.With the passage of Proposition 209 inCalifornia—the anti–affirmative action initiative—the attendance of Latino students at the flagship University of California campuses, Berkeley and UCLA, plummeted by approximately 50% (Gándara&Chavez, in press). Proposition 209

MARKER VARIABLES: A SEARCH FOR COMPARABILITY AND GENERALIZABILITY IN THE FIELD OF LEARNING DISABILITIES1

The learning disability field has been plagued by unclear definitional criteria resulting in inconsistencies and confusion regarding research findings and program effects. The concept of marker variables as presented by Keogh et al. may be a means of guiding research and comparing research results. Marker variables may be thought of as a set of core variables which are collected in common by those conducting research within a given field. The identification and adoption of a systematic, cooperative approach to the documentation of research and intervention with learning disabled students would aid in the comparability and generalizability of the findings. This article discusses the concept of marker variables as they are being applied to the learning disability field in the UCLA Marker Variable Project.

Why We Like to Call Ourselves Latinas.

This article discusses the complex and subtle reasons why many people of Spanish-speaking ancestry—both Latin Americans and Spaniards—like to call themselves “Latinos.” Among other things, this word, coined by the Mediterranean countries to resist Anglo dominance in the 19th century, is currently being used by people of Spanish-speaking ancestry in the United States to express ethnic pride. Thus, the choice of the term “Latinos” over “Hispanics” moves the focus from a pan-ethnic, historical identity to contemporary struggles for equality and the racialization of people of Spanish-speaking ancestry in the United States.

Addressing Educational Inequities for Latino Students: The Politics of “Forgetting”

Minority access to higher education was dealt a blow in 1995 when the University of California Regents passed a resolution barring consideration of race or ethnicity in admissions. The university responded to the severe decline in minority enrollment by supporting “outreach” programs, such as Puente, but “forgot” its promise of support when state funds dried up.

Defining an Adequate Education for English Learners

This article explores the components of an adequate education for linguistic minority students in California and attempts to distinguish these from the components of an adequate education for low-income students who are native English speakers. About 1.6 million students were classified as English learners (ELs) in California in 2006. We argue that in order to determine the costs of educating these students, it is necessary to specify the goals of instruction. Four possible goals are: (1) reclassification to fluent English proficient (FEP) only; (2) reclassification to FEP and maintenance of academic proficiency; (3) reclassification with biliteracy; and (4) reclassification and closing of achievement gaps. Each goal implies different resource needs. We conclude that most additional resources needed by EL students are similar to those for other low-income children; some specific areas of need that differ are English language development (ELD) materials and additional skills for teachers. Biliteracy can be achieved with modest additional investment.

Latino Students and College Entrance Exams: How Much Do They Really Matter?

Because many colleges and universities reduce the weight of college entrance exam (e.g., Scholastic Aptitude Test [SAT]) scores for otherwise high-achieving minority students, the common wisdom has been that low SAT scores are relatively benign for Latino students with high grade point averages (GPAs). This study questioned that assumption and asked whether test scores affect other opportunities, such as scholarships; whether the scores erode the confidence of students who score low; and whether low test scores are predictive of time to complete degree or likelihood of doing postgraduate study. The studyfound that SATscores did not predictfor time to completion of a degree, college GPA, or likelihood of applying to graduate school. Students with low SAT scores were more likely to judge themselves as having lower ability than those who received high scores, independent of GPA, and almost half of the students were aware of missed opportunities as a result of their scores.