Latinx students face gross inequities across K-12 and higher education and our larger social system (i.e., health care, housing, political engagement). For example, Latinx students have been underserved due to segregation, poverty, cultural mismatch with teachers, curriculum tracking, and disproportionate disciplinary practices in schools (Oakes, 1995; Orfield et al., 2016; Rios & Galicia, 2013; Trueba, 1999).
These conditions, in part, have contributed to a state of “subtractive schooling” for Latinx students, which has had a detrimental long-term impact on their education and life opportunities (Valenzuela, 1999). Subtractive schooling arises from a long-standing culture in U.S. education that sees and treats Latinx students through a deficit lens (Valencia & Solorzano, 1997). Talking about the chronic underachievement of Latinx students on standardized tests without discussing the lack of equitable opportunities to learn contributes to a deficit narrative. Identifying the struggles of English learners without analyzing the lack of equitable access to highly qualified teachers and suitable curricula creates a deficit narrative. Further, acknowledging families’ challenges to engage with the education system but not addressing the root problem of poverty creates a deficit narrative. These narratives then influence Latinx students’ opportunities to learn in school. They shape the nature of students’ relationships with educators, their exposure to relevant and rigorous curricula, the expectations teachers have of them, and their access to opportunities (Brown & Rodriguez, 2008; Rodriguez, 2012). But there is hope.
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