Latino Students from Top High Schools More Likely Community College Bound

By City News Service

Latino students who graduate from California's top high schools are still more likely to enroll in a community college than students from other ethnic groups, according to a USC study released today.

Among graduates of high schools ranking in the top 10 percent statewide, 46 percent of Latino students enrolled in a community college, compared to 27 percent of white students percent of 23 percent of black students and 19 percent of Asians, according to the study.

Those same Latino high school graduates were also least likely to attend a University of California campus, with only 5 percent enrolling at a UC school, the study found.

"These findings display highly stratified patterns of college-going in California," according to Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux, a senior fellow with USC's Center for Urban Education and lead author of the study. "They show that it's not just preparation per se that's driving students' college decision-making. There are a lot of other factors, from issues of cost and accessibility to state colleges limiting enrollment due to budget cuts."

The latest report is one of four produced by the Center for Urban Education and the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC in an effort to determine how Latino students are faring in the higher-education system.

The studies found that while Latinos represent 45 percent of the state's college-aged population, they earned only 31 percent of bachelor's degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.

"It is in the best interest of all Californians that more Latinos earn a bachelor's degree, that more of those who meet the admissions requirements for the University of California actually enroll, and that a larger share of the thousands of Latinos in community colleges transfer to four-year colleges," according to Estela Mara Bensimon, co-director of the USC Center for Urban Education.