The Performance of Latinos in Rural Public Schools: A Comparative Analysis of Test Scores in Grades 3,6,and 12

Abstract

Over the lastfew decades, California 's rural communities have experienced a sociodemographic transformation as the percentage of Latinos in these towns increased dramatically. These high concentrations of Latinos are correlated with poverty and low educational achievement. Using multiple regression analysis, this study examines how socioeconomic status, school funding, English proficiency, and Latino concentration affect test scores. This study's major findings are: (a) that the socioeconomic status of parents in rural communities is the primary predictor of academic performance; and (b) that the academic performance of both rural Latinos and Whites improves as Latino concentration increases. This last result is in contrast to previous studies, which have relied on pairwise correlations andfocused on primarily urban populations.