Evidence shows that choice of field of concentration at the middle school or junior high level is the single most powerful predictor of how far a student will progress up the educational ladder. National statistics now indicate that out of 10 Hispanic students in the 8th grade, about 5 will receive a high school diploma but only 1 will have completed an academic program in school which prepared the student for college admission and the pursuit of a professional career. Students, parents, guidance counselors, teachers, and principals should be acutely aware that the decision to take or not to take elementary algebra in junior high is a crucial, hard-to-reverse decision that adds up to a predisposing pattern. Stereotypic thinking leading to the assumption that Hispanic children probably will want to embark on vocational or general curricula must be changed. Programs such as Options for Excellence, conducted in San Antonio, Texas, by the College Board from 1981-1984, have been successful in identifying able high school students whose abilities and talents were not being fully recognized, instilling a sense of optimism and self confidence, and raising the educational sights and expectations of students, parents, and schools. (NEC)