Why do the Latino students in Arizona remain in test results?

Phoenix – With Latino students who leave their colleagues in Arizona in test results, educational experts examine the causes and possible solutions for the problem.

Every year, everyone in education, a Latino Public Education Advocacy Group, is making a report on the educational state in Arizona.

According to the MAPA report in 2025, Latino students tested 24 percentage points that were lower than white students in third grade and 23 points among white students of eighth grade.

Anaii's ball yestery with the organization said that the problem is due to a language gap that was created by a variety of factors.

Why do Latino students fall back?

One is the lack of representation. According to the report, 48% of the public K-12 population in Arizona Latino, but this only applies to 27% of the positions of the State Education Committee and 18% of the administrator and educational roles.

“We believe that so that the results of the students can change, we have to have managers in the field of education that reflect the student population that we serve,” said Ballesteros.

She explained that it makes it difficult for children and parents to have with administrators or teachers who reflect the community to connect with educators.

Another topic is a 25-year state law that is taught to all students in English-language classrooms. The requirement was approved by more than 60% of Arizona voters in 2000 as a prop 203.

The superintendent for public lessons, Tom Horne, spoke out against schools that teach English learning in classrooms with two languages ​​and said it violated the state law.

“We do not offer English learners the opportunity to keep their mother tongue while we learn English, which is very possible,” said Ballesteros. “Instead, we say that you no longer have to speak your mother tongue and only have to concentrate on learning English.

According to the MAPA report, 12% of the student population in Arizona speaks several languages ​​in Arizona, and the English learners are greatly disadvantage.

“Learning to English reach the third grade on a 6% mathematics and eighth grade to 4%,” said Ballesteros. “This is a massive gap and we leave this population behind.”

Victoria Barches, a former teacher with everything in education, said that the language gap made it difficult to establish a connection with the students and parents.

“If you are able to promote this relationship with your parents, this additional step is really and it only builds up the level of trust that you really have to teach for the whole child, right?

How can Latino students improve performance?

Ballesteros said that the parent's commitment is the key to closing the Latino test gap. Having the parents who play a more active role in the educational community – to create a team with teachers – can otherwise lack the necessary representative schools, she said.

“There is a strong potential for the parents to become the next educators, the next para -professionals. And this is about several questions. It is about recruiting and binding educators.

From the point of view of a teacher, Perches says that it makes the difference.

“I think a big piece that is moving in the future is like this community investment that build cultural associations,” she said.

The funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.