The most significant development in America's public schools in the 21st century is the 92% increase in Hispanic students. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports there were 7,327,000 Hispanic students in 1999, in pre-K through 12 public schools, and 14,059,000 in 2021, for a spectacular increase of 6,732,000.
During these 23 years, white students plunged by an almost identical 6,667,000, or 23%, from 29,035,000 to 22,368,000.
Black students declined by 678,000, or 8%, from 8,066,000 to 7,388,000.
Asian students jumped by 779,000, or 41%, from 1,887,000 to 2,666,000.
Since being added by the NCES in 2009, multiracial students skyrocketed by 1,999,000, or nearly 600%, from 338,000 to 2,337,000 in 2021.
In 10 of the 26 largest urban districts that participated in the 2022 "Nation's Report Card," the number of Hispanic students, and their percentage of total enrollment, are New York City, 377,000, or 41%; Los Angeles, 341,000, or 74%; Miami-Dade County, 244,000, or 73%; and Chicago, 160,000, or 47%.
Clark County, centered around Las Vegas, has 149,000 Hispanic students, or 47% of enrollment; Houston, 122,000, or 62%; and Dallas, 102,000, or 70%.
Hillsborough County, anchored by Tampa, has 83,000 Hispanic students, or 38% of enrollment; Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina), 39,000, or 27%; and Duval County, centered around Jacksonville (Florida), 19,000, or 15%.
The combined enrollment of Hispanic students in these 10 mega-districts comes to 1,636,000, or a robust 12% of 14,059,000 nationwide.
On the 2022 "Nation's Report Card," the total score for all public school 4th and 8th graders in math and reading is 983 points, or a very significant 19-point loss from the 1002 on the 2019 exams.
For students in the 26 large urban districts, scores also declined 19 points, from 976 to 957.
The national average in 2022 for all Hispanic students, 941 points, also fell by 19 points, from 960 in 2019. Since 12 points equal one grade-level, each of the three identical losses amounts to 1.6 years.
The rare, fabulous news is Hispanic students in Miami-Dade public schools excelled with 1,005 points, or only eight fewer than the 1013 in 2019.
The other large urban district whose Hispanic students performed admirably in 2022 is also in Florida, Hillsborough County (Tampa), with a total score of 972 points, or only five fewer than the 977 three years earlier.
By contrast, the unacceptably poor scores for Hispanic students in six large, mismanaged, Democrat-run districts are: Chicago, 939 points; Clark County (Las Vegas), 933; Dallas, 932; Houston, 925; Los Angeles, 916; and in woebegotten NYC, 908.
The atrocious scores in these failing mega-districts are between 66 and 97 points behind the 1,005 points in Miami-Dade, or 5.5 to 8.1 academic years.
Tragically, while Hispanic students in Duval County (Jacksonville) achieved an impressive 997 points on the 2019 "Nation's Report Card," their 948 points last year are a mind-boggling loss of 49 points, or 4.1 years.
Similarly, Hispanic students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) totaled 973 points in 2019, but only 930 in 2022, a horrendous loss of 43 points.
Hispanic students in the 16 other large, Democrat-controlled school systems, including Austin (930 points), Boston (920), Albuquerque (910) and Detroit (873), had catastrophic averages between 931 and 856 points.
Their students are between 75 and 149 points behind counterparts in Miami-Dade at 1,005 points, which are calamitous losses of between 6.3 and 12.4 years of academic achievement.
Ten of the 26 large urban school districts are located in the nation's four mega-states: Texas (Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston); Florida (Duval, Hillsborough and Miami-Dade); California (Los Angeles, San Diego); and New York (NYC).
Of the 14,059,000 Hispanic Americans attending the nation's pre-K through 12 public schools, 7,920,000, or 56%, live in these states: California, 3,338,000; Texas, 2,878,000; Florida, 990,000, and New York, 714,000.
Unsurprisingly, Hispanic students in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' Florida, 35% of enrollment, have outstanding results on the most recent "Nation's Report Card," with 998 points in 2019 and 985 in 2022, or a 13-point loss.
Hispanic 4th and 8th graders in Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's Texas, 53% of enrollment, scored 968 and 949, for an unacceptable loss of 19 points.
However, the totals in both states last year exceed the national public school average for Hispanic students of 941 points.
Conversely, Hispanic students in Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom's dystopian California, 56% of enrollment scored 943 points in 2019 and 927 in 2022, or a 16-point loss, and 14 points below the national average.
Hispanic students in Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul's dysfunctional New York, 28% of enrollment, scored 946 in 2019 and 928 last year, for an 18-point loss.
On both "Nation's Report Cards," Hispanic students in Florida and Texas outperformed their counterparts in California and New York by between 58 and 21 points, or 4.8 and 1.8 years.
To further improve their respective state's solid educational achievements, Govs. DeSantis and Abbott should take control of school districts, including Duval in Florida, and Houston and Austin in Texas, which are egregiously failing to teach reading and math, to many of their Hispanic students.
Mark Schulte is a retired New York City schoolteacher and mathematician who has written extensively about science and the history of science. Read Mark Schulte's Reports — More Here.
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