Beyond the Tipping Point: Searching for a New Vision for Latino College Success in the United States

• Published date: 01 July 2021
• Date: 01 July 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00027162211043781
• Subject Matter: Education

128 ANNALS, AAPSS, 696, July 2021

DOI: 10.1177/00027162211043781

Beyond the

Tipping Point:

Searching for a

New Vision for

Latino College

Success in the

United States

By

STELLA M. FLORES,

TIM CARROLL,

and

SUZANNE M. LYONS

1043781ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYBEYOND THE TIPPING POINT

research-article2021

While Latinos have seen an increase in college enroll-

ment and attainment over the last decade, completion

rates relative to non-Hispanic whites are stagnant,

resulting in a steady or widening gap in the attainment

of college degrees. This article summarizes research

related to Latinos’ college success, highlighting the

promise of Latino-attentive approaches for boosting col-

lege completion. We elaborate on how parental and

teacher contributions and behaviors, family-level con-

siderations of costs and benefits, and the value of a col-

lege degree at a community level present opportunities

to increase Latinos’ attainment of postsecondary

degrees. We also present an original multivariate assess-

ment that indicates how the presence of Hispanic-

serving institutions and in-state resident tuition benefits

for immigrant students may raise the odds of college

enrollment and completion rates for Latinos. Our find-

ings suggest that incorporating Latino-attentive policies

are beneficial to college completion among Latinos.

Keywords: Latinos; higher education; state policy;

college access and success

The academic success of Latino students in

the United States is likely to deeply impact

the future of higher education for the nation as

Stella M. Flores is an associate professor of higher edu-

cation and public policy at the University of Texas at

Austin. Her research examines the effects of state and

federal policies on college success for underrepresented

populations. She has published widely on demographic

changes in U.S. schools, minority serving institutions,

and immigrant and English Learners.

Tim Carroll is a doctoral fellow in New York University’s

Higher & Postsecondary Education program. His work

focuses on higher education and immigration policy,

quantitative analysis, and the postsecondary pathways

of students from immigrant and refugee families.

Suzanne M. Lyons is a doctoral fellow in NYU’s Higher

& Postsecondary Education program and program

associate at the Steinhardt Institute for Higher

Education Policy. Her work focuses on programs, mul-

tisector partnerships and policies across the K–20 pipe-

line that support college access and success, particularly

for first-generation, low-income students.

Correspondence: stella.flores@austin.utexas.edu

BEYOND THE TIPPING POINT 129

a whole and for the states in which they live. The newest prognosis for higher

education expansion suggests that the typical student will be, on average, low

income, minority, and most likely Latino (Grawe 2018). The traditional narrative

of the 18- to 24-year-old white college student in a northeastern or midwestern

college is no longer the norm, and the declining enrollment of these students will

further transform the composition of higher education. Latino students will be

central figures in the enrollment and completion calculus of U.S. higher educa-

tion.

Researchers focused on Latino students have been documenting such trends

in the K–12 sector for decades (Gándara and Contreras 2009) but only recently

in higher education. Latino students now represent the majority of students in

the nation’s largest school districts and the largest minority in the nation’s post-

secondary system. Decade by decade, Latinos have become a larger presence not

only in U.S. schools and colleges, but also businesses and local and state econo-

mies. At the same time, many state policies with an anti-Latino focus since the

1990s have dismantled their access to schooling opportunities, social and civic

services, and basic civil rights (Contreras 2011). These policies have limited

access to bilingual education and limit undocumented students’ eligibility for in-

state tuition among other prohibitions (see Table 1). The growth of Latinos’

importance in critical American sectors coupled with simultaneous attempts to

block social and civil rights and/or services is what Contreras (2011) labels the

“the Brown Paradox,” whereby Latinos’ increasing presence in social and eco-

nomic spaces is met with increased xenophobic responses in local, state, and

federal policy, rather than leading to greater acceptance.

The purpose of this article is to review what we know about the ecology of

Latino student success and suggest ways to increase the opportunity trajectory

for Latino students across the educational pipeline within the context of these

varying policy changes. We do so under the frames of Latino diversity within and

across state contexts in relation to college participation and ultimately degree

completion. In particular, we show why research, practice, and policy should

apply a Latino-attentive lens to increase Latino students’ higher education attain-

ment. We argue that a lack of specific attention exists to how large shares of

Latino students navigate the college access process, and we provide evidence for

how future interventions may incorporate Latino-attentive approaches to

increase Latinos’ college degree attainment.

We begin with an overview of Latino college success during the last two dec-

ades, followed by an examination of policies that may enhance or constrain

opportunity for Latino students. We then review the contributions and limita-

tions of traditional and updated frameworks in explaining Latino college success

and provide an analysis of educational policies relevant to this population. We

end with a national analysis of Latino student college enrollment and degree

attainment over time by national origin incorporating the influence of various

opportunity-enhancing or constraining state policy characteristics. We hope to

shed light on the changing landscape of achievement across the intersecting

identities of Latino students and the states they call home.