In addition to reviewing relevant research literature, the study performed extensive original analysis of data from the 1990 decennial census, using the Public Use Microdata Sample of the Bureau of the Census. The study found that in 1990 the school dropout rate for Hispanics between the ages of 16 and 24 was approximately 30 percent. A study of 16- and 17-year-old Hispanics, excluding recent arrivals to the United States, using 1990 census data, revealed the characteristics of those most at risk of dropping out. Those at highest risk of dropping out of school fell into one or more of the following categories: not born in the United States, limited in English-speaking ability, from poor families, or either married or mothers. Hispanic dropouts face a number of formidable barriers to completing their education; 40 percent spoke English "not well" or "not at all;" over half needed 3 years or more of schooling to complete high school; over one-third had incomes that placed them at or below the poverty line as defined for several Federal programs; and most had job or family responsibilities. Findings from a major longitudinal study of students enrolled in U.S. schools in 1988 suggest that Hispanic youths drop out of U.S. schools at about the same rate as non-Hispanic blacks or whites of the same sex and similar family economic background. 15 tables and 7 figures