Abstract
Purpose. This quantitative study was conducted to identify the characteristics of success among Mexican-American High School Students. Mexican-American students will comprise one-third of the future voting power in California and an understanding of the variables that promote their success is crucial. In reviewing the literature, the following variables were identified as factors that affect the academic success of Mexican-American students: family support, persistence, parent education level, cultural equity, socioeconomic status, primary language, self-concept, stressors, social identity, acculturation, ethnic identity acceptance, school-related support, and generation level. The study focuses on the variant factors that contribute to the academic success among a population of students that is rapidly growing and dropping out of American schools. Methodology. The study sample consisted of 261 Mexican-American, eleventh-grade students in four counties: Riverside, Monterey, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Findings. The analysis of the data indicates a variety of significant findings: (1) The students with higher GPAs, academically successful, chose higher levels of future education for themselves than the students with lower GPAs; (2) the higher the GPA, the less students perceived experiencing stress at school as a result of their ethnicity. Conclusions. There are several variables that affect the success of Mexican-American students: socioeconomic status, self-concept, family support, stressors, and primary language use. Recommendations. (1) Replication of this study should not be limited to fourteen variables and should focus primarily on the variables that deal with family support; (2) replication study at an elementary school to indicate whether early intervention would impact the future success of Mexican-American students.