Facing the Facts about Mexican America. The 1986 Tomas Rivera Lecture / Alfredo G. de los Santos, Jr.

The status of Mexican Americans in higher education is addressed, along with the role played by testing and assessment, and educational prospects for Mexican American children. The importance of community colleges in the education of Mexican Americans is noted. Reasons for declining college enrollments for Hispanics are identified: high college costs, the change in financial aid from grants to loans, more difficult admission standards, and the increased use of assessment. Three misuses of educational testing that have implications for Mexican Americans include: heavy reliance on testing for admissions, testing to predict college success, and teacher testing. It is suggested that the net result of the increased use (and misuse) of testing is a sharp decline in the enrollment of Hispanics in colleges and a reduction of Hispanics seeking to become teachers. The educational prospects of Mexican American children are not encouraging. Hispanics are poorer than the general population and their educational level is considerably below non-Hispanic Whites. Recommendations for the future include: providing access for Mexican Americans to social and economic mobility, increasing the number of Mexican American and minority teachers, improving preparation for college, and scrunitizing testing. (SW)

Microfiche. [Washington D.C.]: ERIC Clearinghouse microfiches : positive.