Hispanic Education News: Study Finds Teachers Have Lower Expectations For Latino Students

The United States has long been known as a "melting pot" and that title has never been truer, as diversity is at a record high with Hispanics/Latinos dominating as the largest minority population in the country. According to Pew Research Center, there are almost 52 million Hispanics/Latinos -- Mexicans make up two-thirds of the Hispanic/Latino population, followed by Puerto Ricans, Salvadorans, Cubans, Dominicans, Guatemalans and Colombians.

In a new study published Tuesday by the Center for American Progress (CAP), researchers found that teachers have lower expectations for Hispanic students. Specifically, teachers believed that Hispanic students were 42 percent less likely to graduate college than white students. The same views were held for African-American students, as the study found teachers held the views that they were 47 percent less likely to get a college degree.

The concern with these findings lies in the fact that previous research has found a strong correlation between student achievement and teacher expectation. This phenomenon, also known as the Pygmalion Effect, would mean that the low expectation from teachers in Hispanic and African-American students would translate into poor performance. "It has been demonstrated in study after study, and the results can sometimes be quite significant," write the authors of the CAP study. "In one research project, for instance, teacher expectations of a pre-schooler’s ability was a robust predictor of the child’s high school GPA."

And that's not all! While the student population is seeing an increase in diversity, the same trend is not being observed amongst teachers as a "diversity gap" has been spotted. A study from the National Education Association (NEA) has found that of the 3.3 million public school teachers in America, 82 percent are white, 8 percent are Hispanic/Latino, 7 percent are African-American, and 2 percent are Asians.

"Whatever the root cause of the lack of diversity among the teacher workforce, one thing is clear: States and districts have not done enough to address the issue," said Ulrich Boser, the author of the report. "Few states have created rigorous programs to help individuals of color enter the teaching profession. Not nearly enough districts have offered bonuses or other benefits to people of color who are interested in becoming educators. To make matters worse, in some cities, such as Boston, the number of black teachers is actually declining."

A previous study from the CAP found that almost half the student population in the American public school system are nonwhite with 23 percent being Hispanic/Latino, 16 percent African-American, and 5 percent Asian. This value is a significant increase from previous years -- minorities made up 31 percent of public school students in 1993 and 41 percent in 2003 -- and the rates are expected to rise.