IMPROVING OPPORTUNITIES

Strategies from the Secretary

of Education for Hispanic and

Limited English Proficient Students

A RESPONSE TO THE HISPANIC DROPOUT PROJECT

February 1998
2

This publication responds to a publication by the Hispanic Dropout Project titled No More

Excuses: The Final Report of the Hispanic Dropout Project (February 1998), available from the

U.S. Department of Education (see below).

The full text of this public domain publication is available at the Department of Education’s

home page at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OBEMLA and in alternate formats upon request. For

more information, please contact us at:

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs

Room 5082 MES Building

Washington, DC 20202

Home page: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OBEMLA

E-mail: josefina_velasco@ed.gov

Telephone: (202) 205–5463

FIRS: 1-800-877-8339, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. EST, M–F

U.S. Department of Education

Richard W. Riley

Secretary

Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs

Delia Pompa

Director
3

INTRODUCTION

All students must be equipped to perform the new jobs and roles of an increasingly sophisticated

workforce, which means that offering students an equitable and excellent education must become

a priority for the nation—our families, schools, communities, businesses, and all of us who are in

contact with children. With this priority in mind, President Clinton and Secretary of Education

Riley have been focusing the nation on a clear and urgent educational imperative: High standards

for all students must be set and achieved. This imperative presents a difficult challenge and an

enormous opportunity for the chronically disadvantaged who attend the nation’s schools—

particularly Hispanic students and Limited English Proficient (LEP) students. The strategies in

this booklet aim at meeting the unique educational needs of Hispanic and LEP students in the

context of this emphasis on high standards and high achievement.a

In making an excellent education a priority, the administration both responded to the consensus

of the people and issued a call to action to improve the education of American learners of every

age, of every background, and of every community. To ensure the success of all students in

becoming educated, we must provide each and every one of them with the chance to achieve to

the highest academic standards; we must build upon their individual and collective gifts; and we

must recognize and address the challenges they bring to the nation’s schools.

The secretary’s strategies for improving opportunities for Hispanic and LEP students build upon

the significant initiatives undertaken by the administration and others over the past four years to

develop education policy specific to this population of students. In February 1994, President

Clinton signed Executive Order 12900, creating the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, which advises the president and secretary of education

on the educational progress of Hispanic Americans and on ways to increase their opportunities to

receive a high-quality education. In September 1995, Secretary Riley created the Hispanic

Dropout Project, whose mission was to study the Hispanic dropout problem, to produce concrete

analyses and syntheses for a variety of audiences, and to recommend actions that could be taken

at all levels to alleviate the problem. Finally, in June 1996 the Congressional Hispanic Caucus

proposed a three-point education plan for supporting high achievement among Hispanic and LEP

students.

The strategies in this booklet reflect the priority the Department places on the education of

Hispanic and LEP students and respond to the recommendations proposed by the President’s

Advisory Commission, the Hispanic Dropout Project, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

a LEP students are students who were not born in the United States or whose native language is a language other

than English and who come from an environment where a language other than English is dominant. Additionally,

these students have sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language and those

difficulties may deny them the opportunity to learn successfully in English. Hispanic students comprise approximately 73 percent of all LEP students. Hence, both Hispanic and LEP student needs must be addressed together.

From Descriptive Study of Services to Limited English Proficient Students (1993) by Development Associates, Inc.,

under contract to USDOCE. #LC1003001.
4

We set out a substantive plan to refine existing programs and develop new initiatives that address

the Department’s five goals for Hispanic and LEP students:

Goal One: Maintain and Refine Programs That Boost Hispanic and LEP Students’ Achievement to World-Class Standards and Lower the Hispanic Dropout Rate

Goal Two: Ensure a Program of Ongoing, Empirical Data Collection and Research That

Targets the Educational Needs of Hispanic and LEP Students

Goal Three: Build the Capacity of Teaching Professionals to Meet the Educational Needs of

Hispanic and LEP Students

Goal Four: Support Efforts to Increase the Hispanic Community’s Access to Higher Education and Lifelong Learning

Goal Five: Create Accountability Systems to Monitor the Progress of Hispanic and LEP

Students

For each of the goals we provide a concise outline of the Department’s current improvement

efforts and their direct impact on Hispanic and LEP students and adults nationwide. Next, we lay

out the Department’s new initiatives that support each goal and their projected impact upon the

same population. We conclude by incorporating the five goals into proposed outreach and collaborative efforts designed to ensure the improvement of education for Hispanic and LEP students.

Overview of the Educational Status of Hispanic and LEP Learners

Two descriptors characterize Hispanics in the United States: rapidly growing numbers and a

history of educational disadvantage. Over the past 20 years1

, the percentage of public school

students who are Hispanic has increased from 6 percent to 14 percent. In some states, such as

California, Texas and Florida, Hispanics constitute a majority of public school students in large

urban areas. But this increase is not limited to the Southwest. Between the 1990-91 and 1994-95

school years, the number of LEP students nationwide grew substantially. For example, in Arkansas the LEP population grew by 120 percent, in Wisconsin by 42 percent, in Oklahoma by 99

percent, and in Kansas by 118 percent. Nationwide, over 1,067,744 teachers had at least one

LEP student in their class in 1992.2

According to state education agency data3 for the years between 1990-91 and 1994-95, the

number of LEP students mushroomed by nearly 50 percent. LEP students comprise approximately one in four public school students in California, Alaska, and New Mexico, and about one

in eight students in Texas and Arizona.

Despite their significant representation, Hispanics and LEP students are among the most educationally disadvantaged of all population groups attending the nation’s schools:
5

• The Hispanic dropout rate is unacceptably high: about 20 percent for those who enrolled in

a U.S. school and 30 percent counting both those who ever enrolled and those who never

enrolled in a U.S. school. Language limitation is one factor associated with the failure to

complete high school. A factor contributing to the high dropout rate is that while Hispanics in America who were born outside the United States may never have entered schools in

this country, they are counted among those who dropped out. Regardless of the reasons

behind their lack of high school credentials, the impact is the same—young Hispanic

adults do not have the basic level of education necessary to participate in today’s economy,

which demands high skill levels and the ability to learn new skills fast.4

• Thirty-nine percent of Hispanic children live in families with an income below the poverty

line, a rate more than twice as high as for white children. In general, youth from families

in the lowest income brackets are eight times as likely to drop out of school than those

from families with a high income.5

• Hispanic children start elementary school with less preschool experience than white

children.

6

 According to the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence

for Hispanic Americans, less than 15 percent of Hispanic children attend pre-school (compared with 25 percent for black children and 35 percent for white children), despite our

knowledge that such programs are proven predictors of educational attainment.7

• Achievement gaps between Hispanics and whites remain high. At age 9, the gap in reading

performance has not changed significantly since the initial assessment.8

 In math and

science proficiency, there has been little improvement in the gap between Hispanics and

whites over the past 20 years. At age 13, the gap in math proficiency between Hispanics

and whites has closed by 10 points; however, the current gap of 25 points still remains.9

And in reading proficiency, there has been little change in the gap between Hispanics and

whites over the past 20 years.10 At age 17, the proficiency gaps for reading and math have

closed by 11.6 and 12 points respectively; however, significant proficiency gaps remain.11

• Academic courses like algebra and geometry in the eighth grade act as gatekeepers in high

school to college preparatory courses and, hence, to college admission. Yet, well over 80

percent of Hispanic and other disadvantaged students are not introduced to these courses

by the eighth grade.12

• The demand for teachers qualified to serve LEP students far outstrips the supply. The state

of California, for example, estimates a shortage of nearly 21,000 bilingual or English as a

second language teachers.13

• While approximately one-third of U.S. students are classified as minority,14 only 13.5

percent of their teachers have minority status.15

7

GOAL ONE: Maintain and Refine Programs That Boost

Hispanic and LEP Students’ Achievement to World-Class

Standards and Lower the Hispanic Dropout Rate

Establishing more rigorous and challenging academic standards is at the heart of the U.S. Department of Education’s agenda and is its most important initiative aimed at ensuring equal access to

education for all students. The nation’s most disadvantaged students have borne the brunt of

insufficient resources and low academic standards. As a result, little opportunity exists for

Hispanic, LEP, and other disadvantaged students to fully learn the basic and advanced skills

required for entry into college and high-skilled, high-paying jobs. America’s students can never

be first in the world in math and science if all of America’s students are not focused on high

academic standards and helped to achieve them. This is particularly important because Hispanic

and other minority workers will comprise larger and larger portions of our workforce as this

sector of the population continues to grow.

Current Improvement Efforts and Their Impact

Through its elementary and secondary programs, the Department provides assistance to schools

that serve millions of Hispanic and LEP learners each year. The Department’s current programs

take into account the growing numbers of Hispanic and LEP students and respond to their educational needs and those of their families and schools. The programs described below help Hispanic and LEP students simultaneously meet high academic standards, become engaged in

school, and become adequately equipped for their eventual roles in the workplace and in contemporary American society.

Title I: Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as reauthorized in 1994

under the Improving America’s Schools Act (IASA), is a far-reaching, $7.4 billion (president’s

FY 1999 budget request: $7.8 billion) program of grants to local education agencies that provides

a wide variety of supplementary education services, for example extended learning time and inclassroom support, to help 6.5 million low-income K-12 students nationwide meet high academic

standards.

Direct Impact: In 1994-95, Hispanic students comprised approximately 2.1 million—or 32

percent—of all the students served by Title I, second only to white, non-Hispanics in program participation.16 In 1994, at the request of the administration, Congress modified Title I

by inserting language to ensure that more LEP students would qualify for its services and be

served on the same basis as other students. As a result, Title I’s impact on rapidly growing

numbers of LEP and Hispanic students is increasingly important.
8

Bilingual Education: This ESEA program directly addresses the educational needs of rapidly

increasing numbers of English language learners in the nation’s schools, by aiming at three

primary goals:

• helping students learn English and meet high academic standards;

• training teachers to serve limited English proficient students; and

• funding research and data collection on issues and problems related to the continuous

improvement of education for LEP students.

Direct Impact: 630,000 Hispanic students—approximately 72 percent of all LEP students

served in the Bilingual Education program—receive instructional services in this $199

million (president’s FY 1999 budget request: $232 million) program.17

Immigrant Education: In 1998, $150 million will be awarded to state education agencies

through the ESEA Emergency Immigrant Education Program, created in 1984. Grants are to be

used to help local education agencies provide high-quality instruction to immigrant children and

youth so that they effectively make the transition into American society and meet the same

challenging state performance standards all children and youth are expected to meet.

Direct Impact: Over 500,000 Hispanic students—approximately 60 percent of all immigrant students—receive services provided by the Emergency Immigrant Education Program.18

Migrant Education: Migrant Education is a $305 million (president’s FY 1999 budget request:

$354.7) program under ESEA tailored specifically to the needs of children whose parents’ occupations are migratory. Specifically, Migrant Education has three goals:

• improving coordination of identification, recruitment, testing, distance learning technology,

and development of assessment instruments among all states to help improve educational

outcomes;

• fostering partnerships among state directors, federal agencies, and other organizations to

improve coordination of services to migrant families; and

• ensuring that migrant children have access to services that will assist them in overcoming

cultural and language barriers, health-related problems, and other challenges that place

them at risk of not completing their education.

Direct Impact: According to the Office of Migrant Education, approximately 610,000

migrant students were served by the Migrant Education Program (MEP) in the school year

1993-1994. Eighty percent of the migrant and seasonal farm worker population is Hispanic

American.19
9

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): While many Americans are familiar

with the services provided by special education programs in the nation’s schools, they may be

unaware that special education services reach Hispanic students in a variety of ways tailored to

their linguistic and cultural education needs—above and beyond their special needs. Grants to

states under IDEA are at $3.8 billion in fiscal year 1998. Participation of Hispanic children in

the Special Education program varies with the type of disability. For example, compared with

non-Hispanic students, Hispanic students have lower rates of identification as mentally retarded

and emotionally disturbed. However, they have a higher rate of identification than non-Hispanics

under the specific learning disabilities category, which includes half of children with disabilities.20

Direct Impact: Hispanic and LEP students and their families who qualify for special education services benefit from parent training projects, numerous bilingual/bicultural direct

service projects, and teacher training projects.

The Adult Education Act: The act authorizes the major federal program that supports and

promotes literacy instruction and services for educationally disadvantaged adults—reaching

beyond the nation’s students to serve their families as well. In fiscal year 1998, $361 million

(president’s FY 1999 budget request: $394 million) is available.

Direct Impact: Hispanics represent approximately 34 percent of the 3,900,000 adults

served through Adult Basic Education courses. These courses include: Adult Secondary

Education, which leads to a high school degree or its equivalent, and English as a Second

Language (ESL), which helps adults participate more fully in the American workplace and in

society at large. It is a testimony to the need for and the value of the ESL courses when one

considers that 67 percent of Hispanics participating in adult education are enrolled in ESL

classes.21

Even Start: An ESEA family literacy program, Even Start expands the availability of early

childhood services and provides General Educational Development (GED) instruction, job

training, and English language instruction to many limited English proficient parents. The Even

Start program delivers formula grants to states for the support of intergenerational literacy

projects combining early childhood education for children and literacy training for their parents.

Direct Impact: In fiscal year 1998, the $124 million Even Start program (president’s FY

1999 budget request: $115 million) will provide an opportunity for strengthening literacy

through community and parental support. In 1995, 36 percent of participating parents were

Hispanic.

New Initiatives and Projected Impact

Seven of the Department’s new and far-reaching initiatives to further the administration’s education priorities directly address the educational needs of Hispanic and LEP students and adults.
10

Reducing Class Size: Too many young children, especially those in low-income and Hispanic

neighborhoods, face large class sizes in the early grades when they need more individual attention in small classes. The president has proposed a historic initiative to reduce class size in the

first three grades.

Direct Impact: Over seven years, class size will be lowered to an average of 18 students.

This will enable children in poor districts to get more individualized help from their teachers.

America Reads: The America Reads initiative’s primary goal is to help all children read well

and independently by the end of third grade. When implemented, it will include several efforts

directly targeted to Hispanic/LEP students and their families.

• The Read*Write*Now! Campaign: This campaign combats “summer reading dropoff”—the loss of reading skills through non-use during summer vacation—and encourages

continued reading during the year through the use of reading partners for children, active

use of libraries, and concerted vocabulary development. English- and Spanish-language

reading activity kits for children and their families and caregivers will be available in hard

copy from the Department’s toll-free number at 1-800-USA-LEARN and will be

downloadable from the Department’s Web site at www.ed.gov.

Modernize Schools: Many Hispanic disadvantaged and low-income children attend schools that

are overcrowded and run down in counties that cannot afford to pay to build or renovate the

schools.

Direct Impact: More than $20 billion in interest-free bonds will be available to modernize

school buildings to make them safer, reduce overcrowding and get up-to-date technology

in the classrooms.

Model Effective High Schools: Working with the National Council of La Raza and ASPIRA,

the Department of Education’s New American High Schools Initiative is helping states focus

attention on schools that better prepare all students for college and careers.

Direct Impact: Four of the ten schools initially selected have a Hispanic population of 20

percent or more. In addition, half of the six model urban high schools receiving Department

awards have substantial Hispanic student participation.

Charter Schools: Since 1994, the Charter Schools program has been authorized in ESEA to

support the design and initial implementation of charter schools and the evaluation of their

effects on students, student achievement, staff, and parents. The president’s FY 1999 budget

request is $100 million.

Direct Impact: Several charter schools that have received Department of Education startup

funding meet the specific needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students. The cur-
11

ricula of these schools promote learning the first language and culture in conjunction with

learning a second language and culture.22

Mathematics Literacy and Standards: Working with the National Science Foundation and

groups such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Department is launching a

comprehensive strategy to improve mathematics achievement, with particular attention to the

middle school years. The Department’s strategies focus on equipping teachers to teach challenging mathematics content, assisting states and school districts in selecting and implementing highquality curricula and technologies, and increasing public understanding of the importance of high

standards in mathematics.

Direct Impact: This drive to improve mathematics teaching and learning will ensure that all

students have better odds of developing the mathematical skills and knowledge base they

need to succeed in the 21st century. The Department and National Science Foundation

activities will place special emphasis on high-poverty schools, which will reach high numbers of Hispanic and LEP students. Materials designed for parents and students will take

into account the needs of second language learners and be made available in Spanish.

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education: The

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education was established in

1992 at the Ohio State University. The Clearinghouse is the national repository for K-12 mathematics and science instructional materials. It also has an online searchable database of those

materials, including those in Spanish and English, as well as online and direct resources for

professional development supporting math and science education improvement. The president’s

FY 1999 budget request is $335 million.

Direct Impact: The Clearinghouse provides, in Spanish and English, a broad range of

instructional materials, software, and videos for classroom use.

13

GOAL TWO: Ensure a Program of Ongoing, Empirical

Data Collection and Research That Targets the Educational

Needs of Hispanic and LEP Students

Empirical research relevant to the real problems schools and students confront—particularly the

pressing issues related to the large and increasing population of Hispanic and LEP students—is a

prerequisite for achieving two of the Department’s priorities: raising the level of student

achievement and achieving literacy. The Department believes that a program of ongoing,

empirical data collection and research targeting the educational needs of Hispanic and LEP

students must accomplish the following:

• Provide Current, Accurate Demographic Data: As the number of Hispanic and LEP

students in the nation’s schools continues to grow, there is a critical need for reliable data

that will help educators and policy makers intervene strategically and appropriately in

behalf of this population.

• Discover and Disseminate Best Instructional Practices and Facilitative School Structures: The Department supports a program of research that discovers best instructional

practices and facilitative school structures and teaching for Hispanic and LEP youth.

When disseminated aggressively, the findings of this research can be used to spur best

practices in schools and communities nationwide.

• Evaluate Ongoing Policies and Programs: This program of research must serve an

evaluative function, assessing the effectiveness of ongoing policies and programs so that

they can be refined and improved. As educators assess the needs of Hispanic and LEP

students, they must have a clear sense of program and cost effectiveness—as well as

specific guidelines and empirically tested action plans that will carry them forward in

implementing new programs and practices.

Current Improvement Efforts and Their Impact

Ongoing Publications and Dissemination of Relevant Information on Hispanic and LEP

Students: The Department provides leadership to researchers through the production of several

data sets and related publications, which are the primary source of national-level information on

Hispanic and LEP students.

Direct Impact: Two data sets and a time series study are especially key to our knowledge of

Hispanic and LEP students: Dropout Rates in the United States, The National Education

Longitudinal Study of 1988, and The Schools and Staffing Survey. These studies track and

analyze populations of students to better understand factors affecting educational progress
14

over time. Their ongoing presence on the national scene allows researchers to deal more

reliably with issues directly related to improving education for Hispanic and LEP students.

The studies also provide a historical context important for developing current and future

policy.

Research Centers Funded by the Department: The priority that the Department places on

Hispanic and LEP students is highlighted in the research conducted by several national research

centers, all funded by the Department. Within the Department’s Office of Educational Research

and Improvement (OERI) are two research centers, funded through the National Institute on the

Education of At-Risk Students, with a focus on Hispanic and LEP youth. Under the

Department’s Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination (ORAD) are three Regional

Educational Laboratories with specialty areas in Language and Cultural Diversity.

Direct Impact: The Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At-Risk, at

Johns Hopkins University, is funded at $27,700,000 over 5 years and the National Center for

Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence, at the University of California at Santa

Cruz, is funded at $19,965,089 over 5 years. The Northeastern Laboratory at Brown University, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) in Austin, Texas and the

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) in Hawaii are funded at approximately $1,200,000 per year, or $6,000,000 over five years.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): The 1997 reauthorization of IDEA

ensures that Hispanic and LEP students with disabilities will receive better quality and equitable

education services through data-driven practices.

Direct Impact: The reauthorization of IDEA requires states to gather data to prove that

school districts are not disproportionately identifying and placing in separate educational

settings children with disabilities from among minority or limited English proficient backgrounds. These data also must show that such children are not disproportionately suspended

or expelled from school.

The Outcomes Center of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services: The

center, located at the University of Minnesota, works to improve the assessment of educational

outcomes for children and youth with disabilities. Among its activities are projects that identify,

prioritize, and generate solutions to technical and implementation issues in assessing students

identified as LEP and disabled. These projects were funded at $250,000 in 1997.

Direct Impact: Through the growing and relevant body of research on issues related to

language, diversity, and student achievement produced by these national research centers,

other researchers, practitioners, and policy makers will be able to develop informed, strategic, cost-effective ways to address the educational needs of Hispanic and LEP students.
15

New Initiatives and Projected Impact

Research Sponsored by the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs

(OBEMLA): In fiscal year 1998, OBEMLA will award nearly $4.5 million in research and

information dissemination grants and contracts targeted solely to educational issues that affect

Hispanic and LEP students. The National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education Web page

received a daily average of 5,500 requests for information from practitioners, policy makers, and

members of the public during 1996-97—a total of 1,596,240 hits for that year.

Direct Impact: These monies will provide funding for focused research and dissemination

that will guide the development and delivery of educational services for Hispanic and LEP

students.

Standardized Data Collection: In order to refine and improve its program of ongoing data

collection relevant to Hispanic and LEP students, the Department will examine data collection

needs and propose a standardized process for gathering and sorting data by race, ethnicity, and

language background.

Direct Impact: The National Center for Education Statistics will work with OBEMLA and

other relevant offices to create a systematic plan for including Hispanic and LEP students in

relevant data sets.

Research on Assessment: In light of the proposed national voluntary assessments in mathematics and reading, research on how to appropriately assess Hispanic and LEP students must be

paramount on the nation’s education agenda. This area of research is highly complex and resource intensive.

Direct Impact: The Department plans to invest approximately $5 million in such research

in fiscal year 1998 to address the most urgent questions relevant to assessing Hispanic and

LEP students so that they may fully participate in and benefit from the proposed national

assessments. The major areas of research will focus on three questions:

• At what point is testing in a second language yielding useful results?

• What accommodations are appropriate when assessing LEP students?

• What role does assessment in the native language play in overall assessment?

17

GOAL THREE: Build the Capacity of Teaching

Professionals to Meet the Educational Needs

of Hispanic and LEP Students

The quality of instruction that Hispanic and LEP students receive depends in great part upon having

an adequate supply of teachers with the rigorous training needed to meet the educational needs of this

fast-growing population of our nation’s students. Many school districts that are experiencing this

rapid growth of students with diverse needs cannot find sufficient numbers of trained teachers—and

instead find themselves in a state of educational crisis, struggling to deliver high-quality services to

students whose need is critical. Approximately 27.2 percent of schools seeking teachers for their LEP

students have bilingual/ESL vacancies which are very difficult or impossible to fill.23 A 1993 study

found that only 18 percent—or fewer than one in five teachers serving LEP students— were certified

in either English as a second language or bilingual education.24

However, the presence of a certified teacher alone will not accomplish the ambitious education

goals of the president and the Department. Clearly, Hispanic and LEP students need teachers

equipped with new skills and able to teach challenging content in ways that engage students and

motivate them to achieve according to world-class standards.

Current Improvement Efforts and Their Impact

Teachers and Personnel Programs: Funded under Title VII of ESEA, this program will award

$18 million to institutions of higher education and local education agencies that propose activities to increase the availability of improved training for teachers who will work with LEP students. The president’s FY 1999 budget request is $22 million.

Direct Impact: As a result of these awards 2,000 teachers will receive certification or

graduate degrees in English as a second language or bilingual education. These grants will

also increase the availability of professional development activities for mainstream teachers,

ensuring that the nation’s teachers will be better prepared to address the educational needs of

the growing number of LEP students.

Career Ladder Programs: In fiscal year 1998, this Title VII program of ESEA will award $7.3

million (president’s FY 1999 budget request: $17.3 million) in grants to institutions of higher

education and local education agencies to train paraprofessionals or to recruit secondary school

students to become certified teachers of LEP students.

Direct Impact: This is part of a long-range solution focusing on early awareness of the

importance of and need for bilingual and ESL teachers in the future. Succinctly put, these

resources go into the community, targeting students who potentially are interested in becoming teachers of LEP students.
18

New Initiatives and Projected Impact

Teacher Recruitment: The president has proposed legislation under Title V of the Higher

Education Act that, over a five-year period, would provide $350 million to attract excellent

teachers to high-poverty communities by offering scholarships and other support services for

those who commit to teach in those communities for three years.

Direct Impact: The proposed legislation contains a special emphasis on recruiting minorities into teaching and a funding priority for applications from Hispanic Serving Institutions.

In addition, the legislation provides special consideration for applications from Historically

Black Colleges and Universities and Tribally Controlled Colleges, further increasing the

potential for a more diverse teacher workforce.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards: The Department has worked with the

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to develop teaching proficiency examinations for teachers of English language learners. In fiscal year 1998, the Department will provide

the National Board $16 million to develop the examinations. The National Board will provide a

rigorous set of standards based on which teachers must demonstrate their knowledge of content

as well as apply appropriate teaching strategies. The content domain for becoming a teacher of

LEP students and the varied approaches to teaching in this setting demand different training.

Teachers who meet the content and performance standards through the process of the National

Board application are acknowledged as superior by their administration.

Direct Impact: School districts will have a new opportunity to identify and reward master

teachers to hold them in the teaching profession. This will ensure that a significant percentage of teachers working with LEP students will meet the highest performance standards.
19

GOAL FOUR: Support Efforts to Increase the

Hispanic Community’s Access to Higher Education

and Lifelong Learning

A basic credential for future success in the workplace and in American society is the ability to expand

one’s knowledge base. As the workplace increases in technological sophistication, demanding workers with advanced problem-solving abilities, a two- or four-year degree and learning for a lifetime will

become even more critical. Hispanic students who do graduate from high school appear to be in a

good position to continue their education and acquire the skills they need to succeed in the labor

market. The percentage of Hispanic students who had enrolled in college by the Fall immediately

following their high school graduation was 51 percent in 1996 versus 65 percent for white students.25

Furthermore, Hispanics who achieve a bachelor’s degree earn between 63 and 108 percent more than

Hispanics who graduate from high school without further education.

Adult Hispanic and LEP learners may also seek non-degree education opportunities that will

further their position in American society. Individuals who do not speak English well may

choose to pursue opportunities to learn English and thus improve their marketability in the U.S.

workforce. Hispanic and LEP learners also benefit considerably from specialized courses or

training to upgrade existing job skills or to learn new skills.

Current Improvement Efforts and Their Impact

Pell Grants: Pell Grants are the most effective way to provide access to higher education for

low-income students, despite the fact that the grant award amounts have not kept pace with the

increase in college costs. For fiscal year 1998, Congress provided a $1.4 billion (24 percent)

increase for Pell Grants that supports the administration’s proposal to increase the maximum Pell

Grant from $2,700 to $3,000 and raises the number of Pell recipients by 220,000. The $300

increase in the Pell maximum award is the largest in two decades. The president’s FY 1999

budget request is $7.6 billion, to support a maximum award of $3,100.

Direct Impact: With the Pell Grants increase benefiting about 4 million students, over 40

percent of Hispanic students will receive much-needed support to access higher education

with a Pell Grant. In total, 17 percent of Pell recipients are Hispanic.26

Additional Student Financial Assistance: Since cost is an important factor influencing students’ decisions to attend an institution of higher education, student financial aid is an important

tool for providing access. Hispanics receive about 10 percent of total federal student aid, consistent with their enrollment levels in higher education overall.27

Direct Impact: Overall, over 40 percent of Hispanic students receive some federal student

financial aid.
20

Strengthening Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Program: In 1994, about 50 percent of all

undergraduate Hispanic students attended the 135 HSIs eligible to participate in the HSI program. This program supports the administration’s commitment to capacity building for institutions that provide educational opportunities for large numbers of diverse, needy and

underrepresented students. Eligible institutions are required at a minimum to have a total Hispanic student undergraduate full-time equivalent enrollment of 25 percent or more, have a high

enrollment of needy students, and have low educational and general expenditures. In fiscal year

1998, the HSI program will be funded at $12 million.

Direct Impact: As the proportion of Hispanics grows in the nation, so will their educational

needs. The HSI program is a prime vehicle to assist institutions that serve large numbers of

these underrepresented students by providing educational opportunities. The administration

has recognized this and has proposed increasing support for this program to adequately

address these growing educational needs. With FY 1998 funding of $12 million (president’s

FY 1999 budget request: $28 million), the HSI program supports 37 Hispanic-serving higher

education institutions enrolling about 200,000 students, of which 120,000 are Hispanic.28

TRIO Programs: Six programs are identified collectively as the Federal TRIO Programs:

Student Support Services, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Talent Search, Educational Opportunities Centers, and McNair Postbaccalaureate programs. The Federal TRIO

Programs are educational outreach programs designed to motivate and support students from

disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their academic careers, from middle school to

postbaccalaureate programs. For fiscal year 1998, the TRIO programs were funded at $530

million. The president’s FY 1999 budget request is $583 million. In reauthorizing the Higher

Education Act (HE), the administration is recommending that priority points be added to applicants proposing TRIO projects in underserved geographic areas. This priority is intended to

respond to changing national demographics and may increase the number of Hispanic students

served in TRIO programs.

Direct Impact: Findings from a recent national evaluation of Upward Bound show that

students who participate in the program expect to complete more schooling, take 17 percent

more academic course work, and are more likely to be in a stronger academic curriculum

than similar students not participating in the program. More than for any other group participating in Upward Bound, significantly positive results were found for Hispanic students.

The McNair program encourages the educational advancement of low-income, firstgenerationb

 and minority students by providing effective preparation for doctoral studies

through involvement in research and other scholarly activities. Research data show that the

McNair-eligible population is substantially underrepresented in graduate education; thus, this

program responds to a national need to assist disadvantaged and minority students—such as

Hispanic students—complete doctoral degrees.

b Individuals defined as first generation were born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia and have one or both

parents born outside the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
21

Adult Education: As already stated, the Adult Education Program provides instructional opportunities for obtaining a GED, as well as literacy instruction for adults. The program also supports a major new project entitled “Crossroads Cafe,” a distance-learning ESL program broadcast

by the Public Broadcasting Station.

Direct Impact: In 1995, 67 percent of all Hispanic Adult Education participants received

ESL instruction.29 This is a testament to the value of as well as the need for these services.

More importantly, as programs such as “Crossroads Cafe” are developed and able to be

delivered electronically into the home, such instruction will become more accessible. These

types of programs and the services they offer, such as infant and day care, will enable many

more students to take advantage of educational opportunities.

23

GOAL FIVE: Create Accountability Systems to Monitor

the Progress of Hispanic and LEP Students

Hispanic and LEP students must be included in national, state, and local accountability systems. This

has not been the case for many LEP students, who were excluded because of the technical challenges

of assessing them. Even when they do include this population of students, many national, state, and

local data collections are of little value to schools, students, or parents: Academic achievement

assessments of Hispanic and LEP students conducted in English and with no accommodations for

language proficiency usually provide testing officials little more than crude estimates of English

proficiency and insignificant information about an LEP student’s content knowledge and skills in

other subjects. Often as a result of this inadequacy, LEP students are excluded from large-scale

testing until their English proficiency allows them to participate in the assessment in ways that authentically measure their achievement. However, during the period of exclusion, LEP students may be

forgotten or ignored. They may not receive instruction that would equip them to take these necessary

tests—and education agencies are not held accountable for the plight or the success of these students.

Current Improvement Efforts and Their Impact

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP): The National Assessment of

Educational Progress is the longest-running assessment of student academic achievement at the

national level. Several studies are underway to provide useful information about Hispanic and

LEP student academic achievement. In addition, the Department’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement has budgeted nearly one million dollars to pilot a Spanish-language

version of the NAEP mathematics assessment in coming years.

Direct Impact: NAEP data, which enable the Department to measure Hispanic student performance over time against a national standard and in comparison to other racial and ethnic

groups, provide the basis for analyzing the academic achievement of Hispanic students.

Coordinated Program Review: There is a clear need to provide improved oversight of federal

education programs. To address this need, a variety of Department offices—the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA), the Office of Elementary and

Secondary Education, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, and the Office of Special

Education and Rehabilitative Services—are conducting coordinated quality reviews.

Direct Impact: These coordinated reviews have an added benefit for Hispanic and LEP

student populations, namely, specific interest in and monitoring of Hispanic and LEP participation and integration in federal programs. OBEMLA’s participation in this coordinated

review process has provided an insightful and much needed perspective on the participation

of LEP students in diverse federal programs.
24

New Initiatives and Projected Impact

Voluntary National Assessments: New voluntary national assessments in reading and math

will help to set high academic standards for all students and measure how well they meet these

standards. The National Assessment Governing Board is developing the voluntary national test.

At the same time, the National Academy of Sciences is studying issues related to the quality of

test items and their use, making recommendations for practices and safeguards in the use of test

results, and determining if an equivalency scale can be developed to link commercially available

standardized tests and state assessments to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Direct Impact: Communities and parents will have information that tells them how well

their children are performing in relation to a national standard. Access to this information

will support parents’ taking a more active role in reviewing the effectiveness of their schools

in educating Hispanic and LEP students.
25

INCORPORATING THE FIVE GOALS

THROUGH OUTREACH

As the current improvement efforts, partnerships and new initiatives described above clearly

indicate, the Department’s intent is to be more responsive and committed to an urgent goal:

improving the quality of education for all Hispanic and LEP students so that they may get a solid

foundation in elementary and secondary school and have access to college and learning for a

lifetime. An additional, key component of the Department’s strategies is to integrate the five

goals through an ambitious program of outreach and collaboration. To extend the impact of the

administration’s initiatives, the Department seeks partnerships that will expand their effectiveness and the number of students reached. Community groups, businesses and professional organizations must also develop sustained key roles in communities to ensure that Hispanic and LEP

students meet the highest academic standards and increase their engagement in school. The

Department has instituted the following outreach activities:

La Opinión: The Department document, Getting Ready for College Early, is available in Spanish and English. About 200,000 copies of this document were distributed by La Opinión, the

largest Spanish newspaper in the United States. La Opinión will also make the document

available on computer disk to other newspapers as well as on its Web site.

Scholastic, Inc.: In partnership with the Department, Scholastic, Inc. created and disseminated

50,000 posters conveying the message “Reading is Power/Leer es Poder” to commemorate

Hispanic Heritage Month for 1997. The poster includes reading activities in English and Spanish

that teachers and parents can reproduce for use in the classroom and at home, as well as a letter

from the secretary of education and the president of Scholastic Inc. emphasizing the importance

of reading.

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC): LULAC, the nation’s largest constituency-based organization of Hispanics, has committed to prepare its 110,000 members to tutor

Hispanic students through the Department of Education’s America Reads Challenge.

Univision: Univision, the country’s largest Spanish-language television network, is partnering

with the Department in several cities with large Hispanic populations to develop television spots

and other types of televised programming that deliver to homes messages supporting education.

Toll-Free Number and Spanish Materials: The Department of Education is developing criteria

to systematically determine which of its publications should be translated so that Spanish-speaking parents have better access to information about education. In addition, the Department will

establish a toll-free number that is answered in Spanish to ensure that there are no barriers to

Hispanic parents who want to find out how to better help their children succeed in school.

Inter-Departmental Council for Hispanic Educational Improvement: The White House

Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans will launch this new effort this
26

spring. Senior-level representatives from all departments will participate in the council and in

working groups on early childhood, K-12, undergraduate and graduate education, and on community and federal employment to pursue aggressive programs to improve educational opportunities for the nation’s Latino community.

Council of Great City Schools: The Department is collaborating with the Council of Great City

Schools, which represents the nation’s 50 largest city school districts, to promote high standards

through the voluntary national assessments. As a result of the partnership, 15 major urban school

districts, all with significant populations of Hispanic or LEP students, have committed to participate in the national assessments. Additionally, the Department is working with the Council to

provide technical assistance to these districts in reaching high standards and increasing the

likelihood that students will perform well on the national tests.

Coordinating Committee on LEP Research: The Department is creating an external committee to coordinate research on LEP students. The external committee, composed of researchers

who bring expertise and interest to the problem of educating Hispanic and LEP populations, will

assist the Department to focus its efforts on critical Hispanic and LEP education policy issues.

An internal committee will aid the principal offices currently conducting research—or planning

such research— on Hispanic and LEP issues to better integrate research efforts.

Corporation for National Service: In partnership with the Department, the Corporation is

engaging volunteer tutors in literacy efforts in hundreds of communities nationwide. Increasing

numbers of Hispanics serve in the AmeriCorps national service.

Conferences on LEP Assessment: The Department is hosting periodic conferences on the most

pressing research issues affecting the development of assessments for LEP students. These

conferences, which convene representatives from the research community, state education

agencies, school districts, and advocacy organizations, focus on improved coordination and

planning of research.

Clearinghouse on Successful Models for Dropout Prevention: The Department of Education,

through its various research centers and other clearinghouses, has a great deal of resources

relating to dropout prevention. This would provide school and community leaders with one-stop

shopping for ideas and information on best practices for keeping kids in school.
27

CONCLUSION

Clearly, significant problems present obstacles to educating Hispanic and LEP students. At times

these obstacles may seem insurmountable to the individuals, schools and organizations that

grapple with them daily. The Department’s response is meant to provide a sustained and national

focus on these problems, tackling the obstacles with multifaceted, proactive, and aggressive

strategies aimed at a paramount goal: educating all Hispanic and LEP students so that they meet

high standards and prepare for full participation in an increasingly sophisticated job market and

society.

In all its programs and initiatives, the Department believes that it must be both responsive and

strategic on a variety of levels. A number of key Department-sponsored programs can have

direct, positive effects on the education of Hispanic and LEP students and their families, and on

adult Hispanic and LEP learners. However, we realize that the continued success of these programs depends upon the degree to which they are improved and refined over time by local

leaders, educators and families—and supported throughout the nation by a variety of influential

constituencies.

With its new initiatives the Department also acknowledges the need for action on a variety of

fronts. This multifaceted plan for action covers a vast and difficult territory. It ranges from

equipping the nation’s teaching force to deal with increasing numbers of bilingual and LEP

students to implementing a relevant program of research that can inform the best practices of the

nation’s schools. It also includes bold new ways to help families pay for college and needed

training.

In all of these initiatives and strategies, the Department seeks the active collaboration of the

nation’s educators, researchers, families, businesses, and community, state and national organizations as well as the help of individuals. This collaboration and help can bring results through a

variety of tutoring and other volunteer activities, making a significant impact on the lives of the

nation’s students.

Finally, the Department’s strategies for outreach supplement its current programs and new

initiatives, connecting its five goals in a plan to draw upon the expertise of key community

organizations, universities, distinguished researchers, and individuals connected to the Hispanic

and LEP communities. With fundamental and necessary programs in place, with new and farreaching initiatives, and with concerted collaboration and outreach throughout the nation, the

Department will support educating all Hispanic and LEP students to high standards. If we,

together, work toward this far-reaching, yet realistic, attainable goal for Hispanic and LEP

students, they can have a productive future in the world’s marketplace.

29

ENDNOTES

1. “Percent of students 3 to 34 years old, by race/ethnicity,” Digest of education statistics

1997. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Washington,

D.C.: 1997.

2. Statistical analysis report, “SASS 1993-94: A profile of policies and practices for limited

English proficient students: Screening methods, program support and teacher training.”

National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, NCES97-472.

Washington, D.C.: January 1997.

3. Summary report of the survey of states’ limited English proficient students and available

educational programs and services 1994-1995. Office of Bilingual Education and Minority

Languages Affairs, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1996.

4. Dropout rates in the United States: 1995. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S.

Department of Education, NCES97-473. Washington, D.C.:1997.

5. “Poverty status of persons, families, and children under 18, by race/ethnicity: 1959 to

1995,” in Current population reports, Series P-60-194, Poverty in the United States and

income, poverty, and valuation of noncash benefits. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau

of the Census. Washington, D.C.: various years.

6. Beginning to read. Marilyn Adams. MIT Press, Boston, MA: 1990.

7. Our nation on the fault line: Hispanic American education. President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, Washington, D.C.: September 1996.

8. “Average student proficiency in reading, by age and selected characteristics of students:

1971-1996,” Education on disc, 1996 edition, File C113BO2. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1996.

9. “Average mathematics proficiency, by age and selected characteristics of students: 1973 to

1996,” Digest of education statistics 1997. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S.

Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1997.

10. “Average student proficiency in reading, by age and selected characteristics of students:

1971-1996,” Digest of education statistics 1997. National Center for Education Statistics,

U.S. Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1997.

11. “Average mathematics proficiency, by age and selected characteristics of students: 1973 to
30

1996,” Digest of education statistics 1997. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S.

Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1997.

12. NAEP 1996, 1992, and 1990 national mathematics results, summary data tables, data

almanacs for grade 8 student data. National Assessment of Educational Progress, National

Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1994.

13. Letter from California State Department of Education to the Honorable John Porter, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education, December 17,

1996.

14. “Enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools by race or ethnicity and state,”

Table 44, Digest of education statistics 1996. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S.

Department of Education, NCES 96-133. Washington, D.C.: 1996.

15. “Teachers in public and private elementary and secondary schools by selected characteristics: 1961-1991,” Table 68, Digest of education statistics 1996. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, NCES 96-133. Washington, D.C.: 1996.

16. State Chapter 1 participation and achievement information, 1994-1995. Office of the

Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1996.

17. Title VII Part A and Part C projects: Students and participants served in 1992-1993. Development Associates. Arlington, VA: 1993.

18. Biennial report to Congress on emergency immigration education. Office of the Secretary,

U.S. Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1996.

19. National agricultural workers survey, A profile of U.S. farm workers, demographics, household composition, income and use of services. Richard Mines, Susan Gabbard, and Anne

Steirman, Office of the Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor. Washington, D.C.:

1996.

20. 1994 elementary and secondary civil rights compliance report, Values for the nation. Office

for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1994.

21. Annual adult education statistical report pertaining to Hispanics, Program year 1995.

Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. Washington,

D.C.: 1995.

22. “Charter schools and the linguistically and culturally diverse student.” Kristina Anstrom.

National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education Web site http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/

ncbepubs/misc/charter. 1996.
31

23. Descriptive study of services to limited English proficient students. Summary of findings

and conclusions, vol. 1. Development Associates. Washington, D.C.: 1996.

24. Ibid.

25. “College enrollment rates of high school graduates by race/ethnicity: 1960-1996.” American College Testing Program, unpublished (1997) tabulations derived from statistics collected by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and U.S. Department of Labor.

26. “Profiles of undergraduates in U.S. postsecondary education institutions 1995-1996,” 1995-

1996 National postsecondary student aid study. Unpublished (1997) analysis by National

Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.

27. Ibid.

28. Integrated postsecondary education data system, 1995-1996. National Center for Education

Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: 1997.

29. Annual adult education statistical report pertaining to Hispanics, Program year 1995.

Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. Washington,

D.C.: 1996.