Educational Testing Service
May 2003
Made all the more timely by recent Census news that Hispanics are the largest minority population in America, a new study from the Educational Testing Service (ETS) examines their less than equal representation in the fields of science and engineering. Although their share of postsecondary degrees is rising, ETS contends that "very large increases in the numbers of Hispanics earning degrees are required just to maintain the same proportions" considering the rapid growth of this minority group. In order to increase "Hispanic representation" in science and engineering, ETS argues that improvement is needed on four fronts: high school achievement, high school completion rates, college entry, and college completion. Note that this report focus only on science and engineering, barely acknowledging the importance of acquiring "a large cadre of well-educated workers in an array of fields that require quantitative and scientific knowledge." And without adequate projections of future employment rates in the scientific and engineering sectors, it's hard to get at fundamental factors influencing Hispanic (or anybody else's) representation in higher education and the workforce. To get the report, go to http://www.ets.org/research/pic/hispanic.pdf.