Journal of Education & Social Policy

Contributing Factors to Hispanic Educational Outcomes in Texas
Karen Hale Lewis, Dianne Dentice

Abstract
Relationships between communities and schools contain political, institutional, and network dimensions that impact education inequality. Neighborhood economic characteristics have been linked to reading and math test scores and have been found to impact educational outcomes within communities. Since local government and property taxes largely fund schools in the United States, it is important to examine differences within local communities by identifying limitations imposed on educational success at the district level. School districts have authority to impose regulations beyond both federal and state guidelines with far reaching implications for school age children and their families. Our research focuses on Hispanic students in Texas with an emphasis on the 14 border counties. This study advances knowledge about Hispanic student educational success and our synthesized theoretical model, including aspects of social capital and political resources, acts as a valuable explanation regarding factors that foster student success rather than issues that impact failure.

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