Nationwide, over 1,067,755 teachers bad at least one LEP student in their class in 1992 . 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. In general, youth from families in the lowest income brackets are eight limes as likely to drop out of school than those from families with a high income.
Hispanic children start elementary school with less preschool experience than white children .
In math and science proficiency there has been little improvement in the gap between Hispanics and whites over the past 20 years. In reading proficiency, there has been little change in the gap between Hispanics and whites over the past 20 years. 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. Well over 80 percent of Hispanic and other disadvantaged students are not introduced to these courses by the eighth grade . The state of California, for example, estimates a shortage of nearly 21,000 bilingual or English as a second language teachers .