Latinos Lag in College Completion, Report Says

Only 16 percent of Latino adults have an associate's degree or higher - compared to 33 percent of the total working-aged population in Texas, according to a report by Excelencia in Education, a Washington D.C-based non-profit organization focused on boosting Latino success in higher education. The national average is 38 percent.

The gloomy statistics were unveiled at a press conference in San Antonio this morning attended by state Rep. Joaquin Castro and representatives of higher education organizations.

However, disparities remain."We have to find ways to do better, to do more," said Deborah Santiago, co-founder of Excelencia in Education. Santiago's organization has also been spreading this message in states like Florida and Pennsylvania as part of a national initiative called "Ensuring America's Future by Increasing Latino College Completion," which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundaiton, the Lumina Foundation for Education, and the Kresge Foundation.