Hispanic CREO Reports U.S. Chamber of Commerce State-by-State Education Report Card a Wake-up Call for Education Reform

“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s recently released State-by-State Report Card on the nation’s school systems is an alarming wake-up call for education reform, reports Hispanic CREO. The Chamber’s “Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness” is an in-depth look at each state’s return on its educational investment with a bottom-line conclusion that educational reform needs to be rigorous to meet the needs of all students.

Alarming, is the Chamber’s findings that ” … academic performance needs to improve for all demographic groups, but especially for poor and minority students, who have too often been ill-served by today’s schools.”

“This report is a wake-up call for the nations’ educators and policymakers — the people responsible for deciding how our children are educated,” states Rebeca Nieves Huffman, president of Washington, D.C.-based Hispanic CREO.

“Who will replace our baby boomer work force? These grades are deplorable. Yet, again this is additional proof that low-income, minority students are not making the grade because of the lack of access to high quality educational options,” Huffman reports. “The chamber’s business approach to the study leads us to ask many questions about our children’s future such as, will they be able to lead the U.S. and help it to remain the global leader it is recognized as today?”

While there were some positive aspects of the report, the findings must be reviewed closely. The Chamber report gives Florida and Texas both an “A” grade for succeeding with low-income minority students. But the fact is that Texas has a high school dropout rate of more than 40 percent among minority students, this according to Texas Education Agency figures, and while Florida has made inroads among minority students this success may be attributed to the state’s strong charter school and school choice programs, which help maintain a level of competitiveness with the public school system.

Huffman reports many business leaders are recognizing a need to make a difference in how our children are educated. “Many school choice programs are funded by today’s business leaders through scholarships and tax credit programs. Like the U.S. Chamber, these businessmen and women have recognized that to stay competitive in the future we need a well-educated workforce.”

Hispanics have made educational gains in the past 20 years, but despite this, a crisis in Latino education persists with gaps in academic performance and graduation rates between Hispanic and White students. National scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show 8th grade Hispanic students lag in math and reading by over 24 percentile points in comparison to White students.

“We can eliminate the crisis in Latino education by following the leadership of proactive states such as Arizona, Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin that have successfully implemented school choice programs. Seven school choice studies have been conducted and results demonstrate school choice works to improve student achievement,” adds Huffman.

Contact: Margaret Garcia

(210) 226-2827

Hispanic CREO

CONTACT: Margaret Garcia, +1-210-226-2827″

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