While becoming increasingly important to the economic and social development of the United States, Mexican-Americans still face barriers that hinder their full partnership in U.S. society. This ERIC digest is a summary of the latest available demographic and socioeconomic trends on Mexican-Americans. It discusses the broad implications for education that follow from these trends. In 1990, the Census Bureau estimated that 12,565,000 Mexican-Americans were living in this country, and that Mexican Americans represented the most rapid growing ethic group in the U.S. due to its high immigration and fertility rates. Mexican Americans are becoming increasingly an urban population, concentrated in California and Texas. Mexican-American population characteristics include younger age, larger family size, marital stability, the least educational attainment, and low-status occupations. In 1988 about 25% of all Mexican American families lived below the official poverty line; many of these families include working adults, but their wages are generally so low that they remain part of the "working poor." The final section of the digest considers the implications of these demographic and socioeconomic characteristics in terms of the following: (1) young-adult school dropouts; (2) young parents; (3) cultural and language considerations for schools; (4) the need for expanded preschool opportunities; and (5) Mexican-American students' need for guidance, encouragement, and counseling. This document includes 11 references. (TES)