Education/Higher Education
The majority of AI/AN youth, an estimated 93 percent, attend public schools, while approximately seven percent attend Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. Additionally, Native students are more likely to attend rural schools.1
Among AI/AN youth aged 25 and older, 22 percent have not finished high school and only 13 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher.2 In 2011, only about 16 percent of AI/AN fourth and eighth graders were proficient or advanced in reading and math, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.3 In higher education, among students enrolled in four-year institutions, only 39 percent of Native students completed college and received their bachelor’s degree.4
There are three areas that have been identified as being helpful in improving educational outcomes for Native students. The following three areas include but are not limited to examples of how AI/AN students can be better supported in achieving improved educational outcomes:
- Instructional Practices: Promising instructional practices included increasing local autonomy; actively valuing elders’ knowledge; and ensuring harmony between home and community life and education.
- Curriculum Content: Curriculums that were found to be engaging for students included content that utilized students’ prior knowledge, experience, and community values.
- School Environment: Important attributes of healthy school environment included developing positive behavior supports; building relationships with students and families; communicating a belief in the abilities of learners; learning about Indian heritage; and providing the necessary supports to reach high levels of achievement.6
Resources
Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives: 2008
Report by the National Center for Education Statistics on current conditions and recent trends in the education of AI/ANs using statistical measures.