The Hispanic-Asian Achievement Gap in Elementary School

Explaining achievement gaps and identifying factors that affect children’s educational outcomes is a complex task. Educational outcomes are the product of an intricate interaction of several factors: family conditions and structure, school quality and public policies. Yet, the analysis of educational outcomes of Hispanic and Asian children has additional challenges, including English language limitations, generational status and adaptation to a new culture. Recent implementation of federal educational policies in the U.S. has made more visible the growing racial and ethnical disparities that are persistent across the entire K-12 system. The Black-White achievement gap is an example of such disparities, but the educational trajectories of children from a minority background is a field that needs more research. This work provides information about the significant differences on educational outcomes of children from Hispanic and Asian background in elementary school in the U.S. Policy-makers, researchers and others interested on educational policies and trajectories of minority children would find valuable information in this book.