Answer to Question 1
Looking at education among contemporary Latinos is a study of contrasts. Progress has been significant but they are often stigmatized as being more academically challenged than their White and Asian American peers. Yet Latinos are more likely to aspire to continue their education with 49 percent of high-school graduates enrolled in college compared to 47 percent of Whites.
The level of attainment as measured by years of schooling completed beyond high school remains modest. As a group, 13 percent of Latinos 25 years and over have a bachelor's degree compared to over 29 percent of Whites. On the positive side are the high aspirations that Latinos show for continuing school. About 88 percent of Latinos agree that a college degree is necessary to get ahead in life compared to 74 percent of the general population. A higher percentage of Hispanics leave high school to start college than the general population, and are now the largest minority group on four-year college campuses, and comprise one-quarter of all 18- to 24-year-old students enrolled in two-year colleges. As one might expect from these data, more and more Latino students are receiving their degrees but their success in completing college in a timely fashion is lower than that of their fellow White classmates. Clearly a complicating factor in educational attainment is becoming proficient in English. The importance is not lost on Latinos, who in 2007 cited language skills more frequently than immigration status, income, education, or skin color as an explanation for discrimination against them. In 2007, 46 percent said it was the biggest cause of discrimination.
Answer to Question 2
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