An Exploration of the Relationship between the Mathematical Academic Achievement of Hispanic Multilingual Learners and Hispanic Non-Multilingual Learners

The academic achievement of Hispanic students is not increasing as much as the population is in schools across the United States. Although existing research explores the Hispanic achievement gap, none solely compares the relationship between Hispanic multilingual (ML) and Hispanic non-multilingual (non-ML) students. As the Hispanic population grows, exploring this subgroup and its academic trends is necessary. This exploratory quantitative study uses school-level variables to examine the relationship between the mathematical achievement of Hispanic ML and Hispanic non-ML students through a Latinx Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) lens. LatCrit supports the use of each variable included in the study. A combination of t-tests and ANOVA tests analyzed publicly available and district-approved data from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, an urban school district in Charlotte, North Carolina. The data provided information from Hispanic ML and Hispanic non-ML students who were college-and-career-ready in Math 1. The results found that the Hispanic ML and Hispanic non-ML college-and-career-ready difference is significant and that an achievement gap exists. The findings suggest that several school-level variables significantly affect the Hispanic ML/Hispanic non-ML performance gap: the percentage of Hispanic non-ML students, the enrollment number of Hispanic, Hispanic ML, and Hispanic non-ML students, the number of ESL-certified teachers, and the school category. Based on the findings, LatCrit highlights the need for justice for Hispanic ML students. The study provides a foundation for future research in exploring the relationship of these subgroups and recommends ways in which policymakers and practitioners can take action to ensure an equitable educational opportunity for Hispanic ML students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]