Black Lives Matter: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males

Posted by Schott Foundation for Public Education on March 30, 2015

Black males and graduation

A new report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education finds the latest estimates for high school graduation rates are 59 percent for black males, 65 percent for Latino males, and 80 percent for white, non-Latino males. Since the foundation’s 2012 report, the graduation gap between black and white males has increased from 18 to 21 percentage points (2012-2013). New Jersey and Tennessee are the only states with significant black-male enrollment to have black-male graduation rates above 70 percent. Maine’s rate is highest (90 percent), while Nevada’s is lowest for both black (40 percent) and Latino (44 percent) males. The report confirms higher out-of-school suspension rates for black males, despite no evidence of greater school misbehavior, and lower Advanced Placement enrollment, with less access to AP courses in schools that serve more black students. Gaps for reading and math proficiency between black and white males nationally are 26 percentage points for 8th grade reading and 32 percentage points for 8th grade mathematics (2013). Towards a remedy, the report proposes consistent state and local reporting of graduation rates, disaggregated by race and gender; student-centered educational programs that align academic, social, and health support systems; a moratorium on out-of-school suspensions, which disproportionately affect black and Latino students; and more private-sector programs and community networks to prepare low-income youth for professional success.

http://blackboysreport.org/