Marisa Beltran graduated from Pueblo in 2015, during a decade when Colorado’s Hispanic graduation rate rose nearly 20 percentage points, double the gain for all students, and faster than for any other demographic. 

Hispanic graduation rates rose dramatically for multiple reasons, including new school strategies, improved economic conditions, and the fierce determination of families. Still, Hispanic graduation and college completion rates lag behind those of white students. And with the pandemic exacting a high cost on Hispanic families’ welfare, many worry it will also chip away at recent gains in education.

From 2010 to 2020, high school graduation rates for Hispanic students, who now make up more than a third of Colorado’s K-12 students, rose from 55.5% to 75.4%, a marked increase. 

In the same period, Hispanic dropout rates decreased by almost half to 2.8%, and the rate of Hispanic college students needing remedial classes dropped.

But Hispanic students are still less likely than white students to go to college, and nearly twice as likely as white students to require remedial classes. 

Read more at Co.Chalkbeat.org.