Nationally, millions of students in grades 7–12 are at risk of dropping out of high school because of low literacy skills, poor attendance, and class failure. The absence of a college- and career-ready education for these students is a civil rights and social justice issue that the federal government cannot ignore. Unfortunately, many of these students come from groups that are underserved and underrepresented, therefore failing to ensure that they receive a high quality education  will continue a cycle of poverty and disenfranchisement that the education system itself is intended to disrupt. This fact sheet provides information and policy issues for high school students of color and Native students in the United States, a group that makes up a significant portion of high school dropouts each year.

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by the year 2050, about 50 percent of the U.S. population will be African American, Hispanic, or Asian. These relatively youthful minority populations—Hispanics in particular—will drive demographic growth and diversification well into the twenty-first century. Nearly five million Latino students were enrolled in America’s public schools in the 1993–94 school year. By 2005–06, that number had doubled. Over the past two decades, the percentage of Latino students in U.S. elementary and secondary schools has grown significantly, while the percentage of white students has declined and that of African American students has held steady.

There are an estimated 4.4 million American Indian and Alaska Native people living in the continental United States, representing 1.5 percent of the total population. They are citizens of the United States, and many are also citizens of the respective tribal nations to which they belong. Unfortunately, many American Indian and Alaska Native students do not receive the support they deserve from their respective learning communities. The nation must commit to ensuring the well-being of these students and the quality of the education they receive, particularly given the clear evidence of striking disparities in their educational achievement and attainment levels.

By 2050, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that about 50 percent of the U.S. population will be African- American, Hispanic, or Asian. Given these steep demographic shifts, the performance of students of color and the characteristics of the schools they attend are important factors that must concern all Americans. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, African-American students made up 16 percent of the public school population in 2004. These students, disproportionately concentrated in high-poverty, low-performing schools, are vulnerable to poor educational outcomes that undermine their chances for success in life.

Because Asian American students as a group score higher than any other race on proficiency tests, many observers assume that there is no need to be concerned about their collective academic progress. Asian American students are often stereotyped as the “model minority,” and it is assumed that most of them do extremely well academically, especially in math and science. Because of the lack of disaggregated data, the Asian American statistics primarily reflect East Asians’ overall academic successes and obscure the scholastic struggles of groups such as Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders. It is clear that many Asian Pacific Islander American students are not being adequately served by the nation’s public schools. Changes in the way they are educated must be made if America is to meet the goal of preparing all K–12 students for college, work, and life.