The purpose of this study is to investigate the levels of educational attainment for Hispanics in Illinois and to gain an understanding of why possible trends occur. The research question is: What is the correlation between English proficiency, nativity and educational attainment for Hispanics as compared with the overall population in Cook and McLean counties? In order to determine the correlation between these variables, data from the 2000 US Census were analyzed for the two population groups. Pertinent data included selected social characteristics, such as levels of educational attainment, nativity and language spoken at home. Though some statistical variation exists based on location, the overall findings indicate that levels of educational attainment are lower for the Hispanic population. Furthermore, as the percentages of the foreign born population and those who spoke English less than \u27very well\u27 increase, the levels of educational attainment decrease in all three geographic areas. These findings indicate a need to explore bilingual education programs within Illinois, particularly those that focus on English Language Learners
