The National Commission on Secondary Schooling for Hispanics (NCSSH) has found that secondary schooling for most Hispanics is not preparing them to assume productive and satisfying adult lives. This paper discusses whether the current or proposed reforms and strategies are meeting, or can meet, the needs and potential of Hispanic youth. It is divided into three parts. Part 1 provides a demographic rationale for paying greater attention to the education problems of Hispanic youth and describes four types of Hispanic students in terms of school performance and other factors. Part 2 focuses on educational policy developments in the five States visited by the NCSSH--those with the largest Hispanic populations. Following a discussion of the status, origin and drawbacks of different kinds of reforms, this part offers a focused examination of the effects of the different reforms on the different types of students introduced in Part 1. Part 3 discusses the inadequacy of current reforms and offers suggestions for changes beyond the ones that already have been implied. Not until a school has an orderly climate and the beginning of a school culture of concern for everyone can the school faculty begin to raise academic standards and expectations of students. A five-page reference list concludes the document. (ETS)