Title: Policy, Politics and Population
Headings: Policy, Politics and Population: December 2011
Policy, Politics and Population: December 2011
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Lawmakers can track trends and gain valuable insight from the census.
Older Boomers
Children
Poverty
Education
Rural vs. Metro

Content: More than one in five K-12 students is now Latino. The number of Latinos enrolling in college is increasing rapidly—24 percent within the last year. This is good news, since Latino adults have the lowest educational attainment of any U.S. population group. Only 19 percent of Latinos have a degree, compared with 26 percent of African Americans and 42 percent of Anglos. Simply enrolling in college, however, does not guarantee graduation. Only 36 percent of first-time, full-time Latino students earn a degree within six years, compared with 49 percent of Anglos. For the United States to rise to the top of the world in the percentage of college graduates, the nation needs to graduate an additional 13.4 million students, including 3.3 million Latinos, by 2020. Increasing the number of Latino college graduates requires a coordinated effort, including providing more preschool, middle and high school college counseling. Dropout prevention programs, simplifying college admission and transfer, and improving college affordability will also help Latino kids achieve a college education. Rural vs. Metro
One of the most dramatic demographic shifts of the past century has been the transformation of the country from largely rural to largely urban.