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population. The report (Fry, 2002) revealed that there is a substantial enrollment
gap between Latinos and all other groups among 18- to 24-year-olds. For example,
only 35% of Latino high-school graduates in that age group are enrolled in college
compared to 46% of Whites. Also, Latinos are far more likely to be enrolled in
2-year colleges than any other group (about 40% of Latinos in the 18- to 24-year-
old range, compared to about 25% of White and Black students in that age group).
Furthermore, Latinos are more likely to be part time students (about 85% of Whites
are enrolled full time compared to about 75% of Latinos).
There are within-group differences that have been reported as well. For example,
first-generation students (those whose parents did not attend college and who are
most often African American or Latino) also have a lower rate of postsecondary
attainment than White students. Based on the National Education Longitudinal
Study of 1988 (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2005), 43% of
the first-generation students who enrolled in postsecondary education between 1992
and 2000 “left without a degree” and 25% had attained an undergraduate degree by
2000. In contrast, 20% of the students whose parents had a bachelor's degree or
higher “left without a degree” from a postsecondary institution, while almost 70%
attained an undergraduate degree by 2000.
These inequities in outcomes are troubling for a number of reasons; yet they
only document the current situation rather than suggesting a solution. Attempts to
examine the underlying causes of these achievement differences have focused on a
number of areas including correlates resulting in hypothesized or possible causes of
the achievement patterns noted above. These are described below.
Achievement Differences Among Subgroups in Higher
Education: Social and Cultural Factors
College enrollment has been found to be influenced by a variety of academic, per-
sonal, social, and economic factors. Cultural and family-related values play an
integral role in modeling student perceptions and motivation as well, especially
in populations of students from minority backgrounds (Alfaro, Umana-Taylor, &
Bamaca, 2006; Esparza & Sanchez, 2008; Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999; Plunkett &
Bamaca-Gomez, 2003; Plunkett, Henry, Houltberg, Sands, & Abarca-Mortensen,
2008). For instance, Eccles, Vida, and Barber (2004) found that high-school
achievement, family expectations, mother's education level and family income were
predictors of college enrollment. Abrego (2006) took a qualitative approach to
examining the problem of undocumented youth in high school, and her findings
revealed how these students faced the difficult and often impossible task of entering
college or finding a job due to their undocumented status, thus resulting in decreased
motivation and increased tendency to drop out.
In regards to families, Goldenberg, Gallimore, Reese, and Garnier (2001) looked
at how the aspirations and expectations of immigrant Latino families impact stu-
dent performance. This study found that low performing students do not come
