Aspirations of attainment: A critical examination of state policy goals and the disparities in the Latinx community.

Abstract

Improving postsecondary educational attainment has been prioritized as a national imperative by policymakers, foundations, and advocacy groups with the goal of significantly increasing the share of college graduates. To achieve this imperative, individual states have developed college-level attainment policies and plans to reach target milestones by years 2025, 2030, and beyond. Although states have taken on the challenge of college completion, there has been little attention placed on the racial disparities that exist in attainment and the ways they are potentially addressed through these efforts. Of all racial and ethnic groups, the Latinx community faces the lowest attainment rate in 34 of 50 states. Knowing these wide disparities exist, we studied state-level attainment plans and the discourse around addressing Latinx disparities. Using critical policy analysis, we found little evidence that attainment plans acknowledge or address racial disparities in general or the glaring gaps for the Latinx community specifically. Our findings reveal that the primary discourse around improving attainment is an economic one, focused on improving rates to sustain and achieve workforce demands. Across attainment plans, we found three patterns of discourse-deficitoriented, race-evasive, or race-conscious-that attempt to acknowledge inequities and take action to improve rates for the Latinx community. Our findings suggest that without explicit language in attainment efforts, racial inequities will persist and the goals of improved attainment cannot be achieved.