Fast Facts: Hispanic Heritage Month (1142)

Hispanic Heritage Month

Question:
For National Hispanic Heritage Month 2022, what data do you have on the learning experiences of Hispanic/Latino students throughout their education careers and on the characteristics of Hispanic/Latino education staff?

Response:

Early Childhood Education

In 2020, 33 percent of Hispanic/Latino 3- to 4-year-olds and 82 percent of Hispanic/Latino 5-year-olds were enrolled in school (source).¹

K–12 Education

Students

Between 2009 and 2020, the percentage of students enrolled in public PK–12 schools who were Hispanic/Latino increased from 22 percent to 28 percent (source).
The average NAEP mathematics assessment score of Hispanic/Latino 13-year-olds was 29 points higher in 2020 than in 1978 (source).
In school year 2018–19, the adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) was 82 percent for Hispanic/Latino students who attended public schools. The ACGRs for Hispanic/Latino students ranged from 60 percent in the District of Columbia to 91 percent each in Alabama and West Virginia (source).

Adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) for public high school students, by race/ethnicity: 2018–19

The data in this figure is described in the surrounding text.

¹ Includes other race/ethnicity categories not separately shown.
² Reporting practices for data on Asian and Pacific Islander students vary by state. Asian/Pacific Islander data in this indicator represent either the value reported by the state for the “Asian/Pacific Islander” group or an aggregation of separate values reported by the state for “Asian” and “Pacific Islander.” “Asian/Pacific Islander” includes the “Filipino” group, which only California and Hawaii report separately.
³ Estimated assuming a count of zero American Indian/Alaska Native students for Hawaii.

NOTE: The ACGR is the percentage of public high school freshmen who graduate with a regular diploma within 4 years of starting 9th grade. The total ACGR is for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.

Teachers

During school year 2017–18, about 9 percent of all K–12 teachers were Hispanic/Latino. About three-quarters (76 percent) of these Hispanic/Latino teachers were female (source).
Forty-four percent of Hispanic/Latino K–12 teachers taught in city schools, and 8 percent of Hispanic/Latino teachers taught in schools located in rural areas (source).

Principals

During school year 2017–18, about 8 percent of all K–12 principals were Hispanic/Latino (source).
Fifteen percent of principals who worked in city public schools were Hispanic/Latino, and 3 percent of principals who worked in rural public schools were Hispanic/Latino (source).

Postsecondary Education

Students

Between fall 2009 and fall 2020, Hispanic/Latino undergraduate enrollment increased by 42 percent (from 2.4 million to 3.3 million students) in the 50 states and District of Columbia (source).
In fall 2020, there were more than 2 million Hispanic/Latino students enrolled at 451 Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (source).

The data in this figure is described in the surrounding text.

In 2019–20, there were 141,085 bachelor’s degrees and 28,460 master’s degrees awarded to Hispanic/Latino students at HSIs in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (source).
In academic year 2019–20, some 17 percent of bachelor’s degrees conferred to Hispanic/Latino graduates in the 50 states and District of Columbia, excluding Puerto Rico, were in a STEM field (source).

Percentage of bachelor’s degrees conferred in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, by race/ethnicity and nonresident status: 2019–20

The data in this figure is described in the surrounding text.

NOTE: Data are for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. STEM fields include biological and biomedical sciences, computer and information sciences, engineering and engineering technologies, mathematics and statistics, and physical sciences and science technologies. Data are for postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Data in this table are based on the 2020 Classification of Instructional Programs. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Race/ethnicity categories exclude nonresident aliens. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.

Faculty

In fall 2020, there were 22,461 full-time Hispanic/Latino female faculty members at degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, compared with 21,879 Hispanic/Latino male faculty members (source). Female and male Hispanic/Latino faculty each represented 3 percent of total full-time faculty members (source).

¹ Unless otherwise noted, statistics in this Fast Fact refer to the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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