U.S. Report Tracks High Dropout Rate Among Hispanics

By Lynn Schnaiberg

While the school dropout rates of some minorities have fallen over time, the rates for Hispanic students have remained stubbornly high, according to a report released last week by the U.S. Department of Education.

In 1994, the most recent year for which figures are available, the annual dropout rate for Hispanic students was more than double the rate for African-Americans and 3 1/2 times that for non-Hispanic whites, the study concludes.

With Hispanics poised to become the largest ethnic minority in the United States--projections indicate they will make up one in five Americans by 2050--the dropout statistics take on added significance. Hispanics now make up about 13.5 percent of the nation's school-age children, according...