Previous research has expanded our understanding of Latinx students’ schooling and outcomes in many ways, but current knowledge fails to appreciate nuances associated with the constantly evolving Latinx population. In many cases, schools are ill prepared to serve these students. I offer recommendations for developing a robust knowledge base on the education of Latinx students and the roles that schools play in perpetuating or ameliorating inequities. Specifically, I discuss strength-based perspectives and the expansive diversity of the population as concepts that are essential to framing research and interventions that aim to improve education for the Latinx student population. I review the empirical evidence on achievement outputs and key features of the school opportunity gap—segregation, discrimination, family-school partnerships, classroom teaching and learning, and instruction language use. Finally, I propose implications for developing equity-oriented reforms to support the continuous improvement of Latinx students’ education.
ArtilesAlfredo J.2011. Toward an interdisciplinary understanding of educational equity and difference: The case of the racialization of ability. Educational Researcher40 (9): 431–45.
2.
BanksJames A.2013. The construction and historical development of multicultural education, 1962–2012. Theory into Practice52 (1): 73–82.
3.
Barajas-LópezFilbertoIshimaruAnn M.2020. “Darles el lugar”: A place for nondominant family knowing in educational equity. Urban Education55 (1): 38–65.
4.
BarruecoSandraLópezMiguel L.MilesJonathan C.2007. Parenting behaviors in the first year of life: A national examination of Latinos and other cultural groups. Latinos and Education6 (3): 253–65.
5.
BennerAprile D.WangYijieShenYishanBoyleAlaina E.PolkRichelleChengYen-Pi. 2018. Racial/ethnic discrimination and well-being during adolescence: A meta-analytic review. American Psychologist73 (7): 855–83.
6.
BennettMorganeRocheKathleen M.HuebnerDavid M.LambertSharon F.2020. School discrimination and changes in Latinx adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Journal of Youth and Adolescence49:2020–33.
7.
BerendsMarkPenalozaRoberto V.2010. Increasing racial isolation and test score gaps in mathematics: A 30-year perspective. Teachers College Record112 (4): 978–1007.
8.
Bonilla-SilvaEduardo. 2004. From bi-racial to tri-racial: Towards a new system of racial stratification in the USA. Ethnic and Racial Studies27 (6): 931–50.
9.
BrownTara M.RodríguezLouie F.2009. School and the co-construction of dropout. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education22 (2): 221–42.
10.
BrownChristia SpearsTamMichelle. 2019. Ethnic discrimination predicting academic attitudes for Latinx students in middle childhood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology65 (2019): 101061.
11.
BrownTara M.GalindoClaudiaQuarlesBradleyCookAlice LaRue Joy. 2019. Self-efficacy, dropout status, and the role of in-school experiences among urban, young adult school-leavers and non-leavers. Urban Review51 (5): 816–44.
12.
CabreraNatasha J.2012. An ecological view of the socialization process of Latino children. In Infants, toddlers, and families in poverty: Research implications for early child care, eds. OdomS. L.PungelloE. P.Gardner-NeblettN., 257–80. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
13.
CabreraNatasha J.HennigarAveryYumiseva-LackenbacherMarthaGalindoClaudia. 2019. Young Latinx children: At the intersections of race and socioeconomic status. In Advances in child development and behavior, ed. BensonJ. B., 65–99. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.
14.
CarterPrudence L.2016. Educational equality is a multifaceted issue: Why we must understand the school’s sociocultural context for student achievementRSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences2 (5): 142–63.
15.
ChettyRajFriedmanJohn N.HilgerNathanielSaezEmmanuelSchanzenbachDiane W.YaganDanny. 2011. How does your kindergarten classroom affect your earnings? Evidence from Project STAR. Quarterly Journal of Economics126 (4): 1593–1660.
16.
CórdovaDavidJr.CervantesRichard C.2010. Intergroup and within-group perceived discrimination among US-born and foreign-born Latino youth. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences32 (2): 259–74.
17.
CovarrubiasAlejandro. 2011. Quantitative intersectionality: A critical race analysis of the Chicana/o educational pipeline. Journal of Latinos in Education10 (2): 86–105.
18.
CrosnoeRobert. 2009. Family-school connections and the transitions of low-income youths and English language learners from middle school to high school. Developmental Psychology45 (4): 1061–76.
19.
CrossFernanda L.Rivas-DrakeDeborahRowleyStephanieMendezErikaLedonCharoWallerAdreanneKrugerDaniel J.2019. Documentation-status concerns and Latinx parental school involvement. Translational Issues in Psychological Science5 (1): 29–41.
20.
DonatoRubenHansonJarrod. 2019. Mexican-American resistance to school segregation. Phi Delta Kappan100 (5): 39–42.
21.
DurandTina M.2011. Latino parental involvement in Kindergarten: Findings from the early childhood longitudinal study. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences33 (4): 469–89.
22.
DurandTina M.PerezNicole A.2013. Continuity and variability in the parental involvement and advocacy beliefs of Latino families of young children: Finding the potential for a collective voice. School Community Journal23 (1): 49–80.
23.
EnriquezLaura E.2017. A “master status” or the “final straw”? Assessing the role of immigration status in Latino undocumented youths’ pathways out of school. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies43 (9): 1526–43.
24.
FryerRoland G.LevittSteven D.2004. Understanding the Black-white test score gap in the first two years of school. Review of Economics and Statistics86 (2): 447–64.
25.
FullerBruceBathiaShrutiBridgesMargaretGalindoClaudiaLagosFrancisco. Forthcoming. Local variation in the segregation of Latino children—Role of place, poverty, and culture. American Journal of Education.
26.
FullerBruceKimYoonjeonGalindoClaudiaBathiaShrutiBridgesMargaretDuncanGreg J.ValdiviaIsabel García. 2019. Worsening school segregation for Latino children?Educational Researcher48 (7): 407–20.
27.
GalindoClaudiaFullerBruce. 2010. The social competence of Latino kindergartners and growth in mathematical understanding. Developmental Psychology46 (3): 579–92.
28.
GalindoClaudiaSonnenscheinSusanMontoya-ÁvilaAngélica. 2019. Latina mothers’ engagement in children’s math learning in the early school years: Conceptions of math and socialization practices. Early Childhood Research Quarterly47 (2): 271–83.
29.
GándaraPatricia C.ContrerasFrances. 2009. The Latino education crisis: The consequences of failed social policies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
30.
GeneseeFredLindholm-LearyKathryn. 2011. The education of English language learners. In Educational psychology handbook, eds. HarrisK. R.GrahamS.UrdanT., 499–526. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
31.
GrahamSandra. 2018. Race/ethnicity and social adjustment of adolescents: How (not if) school diversity matters. Educational Psychologist53 (2): 64–77.
32.
HillN. E.TorresK.2010. Negotiating the American dream: The paradox of aspirations and achievement among Latino students and engagement between their families and schools. Journal of Social Issues66 (1): 95–112.
33.
HuynhVirginia W.FuligniAndrew J.2010. Discrimination hurts: The academic, psychological, and physical well-being of adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence20 (4): 916–41.
34.
IcelandJohnNelsonKyle A.2008. Hispanic segregation in metropolitan America: Exploring the multiple forms of spatial assimilation. American Sociological Review73:741–65.
35.
JangSung Tae. 2019. Schooling experiences and educational outcomes of Latinx secondary school students living at the intersections of multiple social constructs. Urban Education, 1–32.
36.
JungSunyoungFullerBruceGalindoClaudia. 2012. Family functioning and early learning practices in immigrant homes. Child Development83 (5): 1510–26.
37.
KalogridesDemetra. 2009. Generational status and academic achievement among Latino high school students: Evaluating the segmented assimilation theory. Sociological Perspectives52 (2): 159–83.
38.
LópezFrancescaScanlanMartinGundrumBecky. 2013. Preparing teachers of English language learners: Empirical evidence and policy implications. Education Policy Analysis Archives21:20.
39.
Lopez MarkoH.Gonzalez-BarreraAnaKrogstadJens M.2018. More Latinos have serious concerns about their place in America under Trump. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
40.
MellomPaula J.StraubhaarRolfBalderasCarissaAriailMichaelPortesPedro R.2018. “They come with nothing:” How professional development in a culturally responsive pedagogy shapes teacher attitudes towards Latino/a English language learners. Teaching and Teacher Education71:98–107.
41.
MollLuis C.AmantiCathyDeborahNeffGonzálezNorma. 1992. Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice31 (2): 132–41.
42.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Promoting the educational success of children and youth learning English: Promising futures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
43.
NeblettEnrique W.Jr.Rivas-DrakeDeborahUmaña-TaylorAdriana J.2012. The promise of racial and ethnic protective factors in promoting ethnic minority youth development. Child Development Perspectives6 (3): 295–303.
44.
Noe-BustamanteLuis. 2020. Education levels of recent Latino immigrants in the U.S. reached new high as of 2018. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
45.
OrfieldGaryFrankenbergErica D.EeJongyeonKusceraJohn. 2014. Brown at 60: Great progress, a long retreat and an uncertain future. Los Angeles. CA: Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles.
46.
OrfieldG.KusceraJ.Siegel-HawleyG.2012. E Pluribus. . . separation: Deepening double segregation for more students. Los Angeles, CA: Civil Rights Project UCLA.
47.
ParisDjango. 2012. Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher41 (3): 93–97.
48.
PatelSita G.ClarkeAnnette V.EltarebFaziaMacciomeiErynn E.WickhamRobert E.2016. Newcomer immigrant adolescents: A mixed-methods examination of family stressors and school outcomes. School Psychology Quarterly31 (2): 163–80.
49.
PegueroAnthony A.ShekarkharZahra. 2011. Latino/a student misbehavior and school punishment. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences33 (1): 54–70.
50.
PortesAlejandroRumbautRuben. 2001. Legacies: The history of the immigrant second generation. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
51.
PotochnickStephanie. 2014. The academic adaptation of children of immigrants in new and established settlement states: The role of family, schools, and neighborhoods. Population Research and Policy Review33 (3): 335–64.
52.
ReardonSean F.GalindoClaudia. 2009. The Hispanic-white achievement gap in math and reading in the elementary grades. American Educational Research Journal46 (3): 853–91.
53.
ReardonSean F.KalogridesDemetraShoresKenneth. 2019. The geography of racial/ethnic test score gaps. American Journal of Sociology124 (4): 1164–1221.
54.
ReardonSean F.PortillaXimena A.2016. Recent trends in income, racial, and ethnic school readiness gaps at kindergarten entry. AERA Open2 (3): 1–18.
55.
ReardonS. F.Robinson-CimpianJ. P.WeathersE. S.2015. Patterns and trends in racial/ethnic and socioeconomic academic achievement gaps. In Handbook of research in education finance and policy, 2nd ed., eds. LaddH.GoertzM., 491–509. Milton Park, UK: Erlbaum.
56.
ReeseLeslieJensenBryantRamirezDebora. 2014. Emotionally supportive classroom contexts for young Latino children in rural California. Elementary School Journal114 (4): 501–26.
57.
ReevesRichard V.BusetteCamille. 2018. The middle class is becoming race-plural, just like the rest of America. Washington DC: The Brookings Institute.
58.
RyabovIgorVan HookJennifer. 2007. School segregation and academic achievement among Hispanic children. Social Science Research36 (2): 767–88.
59.
SkibaRussell J.HornerRobert H.ChungChoong-GeunRauschM. KaregaMaySeth L.TobinTary. 2011. Race is not neutral: A national investigation of African American and Latino disproportionality in school discipline. School Psychology Review40 (1): 85–107.
60.
SpeesLisaPerreiraKrista M.FuligniAndrew. 2017. Family matters: Promoting the academic adaptation of Latino youth in new and established destinations. Journal of Family Issues38 (4): 457–79.
61.
SteinGabriela LivasCastro-SchiloLauraCavanaughAlyson M.MejiaYeseniaChristopheN. KeitaRobinsRichard. 2019. When discrimination hurts: The longitudinal impact of increases in peer discrimination on anxiety and depressive symptoms in Mexican-origin youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence48 (5): 864–75.
Suárez-OrozcoCarolaSuárez-OrozcoMarcelo M.TodorovaIrina. 2008. Learning a new land: Immigrant students in American society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
64.
TiendaMartaFuentesNorma. 2014. Hispanics in metropolitan America: New realities and old debates. Annual Review of Sociology40:499–520.
65.
U.S. Department of Education. 2009. Statistics, High School Transcript Study (HSTS), various years, 1990–2009. Washington DC: Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education.
66.
WellsAmy StuartFoxLaurenCordova-CoboDiana. 2016. How racially diverse schools and classrooms can benefit all students. Education Digest82 (1): 17.
