Exploring Latino Student Achievement in Texas

Everything is bigger in Texas – including our demographic shifts: Since 2005 there has been an increase of 800,000 Latino children in the Texas public educational system, bringing the total number of Latino students to three million. For comparison, the 800,000 additional Latino students alone represent a student population that is larger than the independent populations of Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C.

​In Greater Houston, Latino children make up half of the student population across 50 school districts. Texas’ future will be defined by the success our children achieve, and if Latino children succeed, Texas will succeed.
 
Despite our best efforts, we’re falling short on this front. Across Texas, only 11% of Latino students are graduating college-ready. So, what will it take to accelerate Latino student success? 

The good news is that throughout Texas there are schools that are majority-Latino and majority low-income that are performing very well and there's a lot we can learn from these schools.

In the recent A-F ratings released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), 74% of Latino majority/low-income majority-schools in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) earned an "A" or "B" grade. This stands in stark contrast with clusters of schools with similar demographics in other regions (as defined by TEA). 

Region 1: Edinburg (Rio Grande Valley) stands out. There are over 400,000 students in Region 1 with 500+ schools that are majority Latino and majority low-income. 

Looking at the top fifteen school districts (in size) in Region 1, you can see a combination of both traditional and charter school districts doing well with majority Latino/majority low-income schools:

The Latino community is very diverse, so we can't assume that what works in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) will automatically work anywhere else; however, I think there's a lot we can learn from the success of these schools in the RGV.

There's only so much you can learn from the data and every number represents a student, a school, a family, and a community - each reflecting a complex reality. If I had a magic wand, here are the questions I'd want to explore further to learn more about the RGV:

1. 90% of teachers across Region 1 are Latino, closely mirroring the student demographics of Region 1 (97% Latino students). Has this played a role in supporting student achievement?
2. How have school districts in the RGV recruited, prepared, and supported teachers in the RGV?
3. Given the significant Latino population in the RGV, how do school districts in the RGV approach bilingual education? 
4. What does parent engagement look like in the RGV?
5. What community assets exist in the RGV and what role (if any) do they play in the performance of low-income schools?
6. How does the local economy of the RGV differ from the local economies of other regions in Texas and what impact has this had on schools?
7. How have traditional public school districts and charter schools worked together?
8. What percent of Latino children in the RGV are first-generation, second-generation, etc.?
   
9. How is the Latino student population the RGV similar or different than other Latino student populations across Texas?
10. What do teachers and school districts in the RGV point to as their most effective strategies and greatest successes?