50 State Report: Public Education and Black Males

Posted by on October 08, 2012

We can’t wait 50 years

A new report from the Schott Foundation finds that only 52 percent of black male and 58 percent of Latino male ninth-graders graduate from high school in four years, compared with 78 percent of white, non-Latino male ninth-graders. Graduation for black males nationally increased ten percent since 2001-02, with 2010-11 the first year that more than half of ninth-grade black males graduated with a regular diploma four years later. Yet this progress reduced the graduation gap between black males and white, non-Latino males by just three percentage points; at this rate, it will take 50 years for black males to achieve the same graduation rates as white counterparts. Among states with the largest black enrollments, New York (37 percent), Illinois (47 percent), and Florida (47 percent) have the lowest graduation rates for black males. Among states with highest enrollments of Latinos, New York (37 percent), Colorado (46 percent), and Georgia (52 percent) have the lowest graduation rates for Latino males. The report also stresses the need to address a “pushout” and “lockout” crisis in our education system. Blacks and Latinos face disproportionate rates of out-of-school suspensions and do not consistently receive sufficient instruction. Many who remain in schools are locked out of districts where teachers have the training, mentoring, administrative support, supplies, and facilities to provide children with an opportunity to learn.

See the report: http://www.blackboysreport.org/