When Will Richmond & Virginia Wise Up?

Schott Report: Graduation Rates for Black Boys Drops, Achievement Gap Widens

Black and Latino boys continue to trail behind their white male counterparts when it comes to High School graduation, a new report states.

According to the Schott Foundation for Public Education only 52 percent of Black male and 58 percent of Latino male ninth-graders graduate from high school within four years compared to 78 percent of White, non-Latino male ninth-graders.

The report is released every two years and this year’s findings reveal that the gap for black males is growing. In 2008, the black male graduation rate was 47 percent.

The report suggests that in order for the U.S. to become competitive globally, it has to do a better job of bringing all kids up to parity and proposes increased support and standards-driven reforms to change that alarming statistic.

“We have a responsibility to provide future generations of Americans with the education and the  skills needed to thrive in communities, the job market and the global economy. Yet, too many Black and Latino young boys and men are being pushed out and locked out of the U.S. education system or find themselves unable to compete in a 21st Century economy upon graduating,” said John H. Jackson, president and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education.

Jackson said if progress continues at the current rate, it would take Black males 50 years to catch up to white males. ““These graduation rates are not indicative of a character flaw in the young men, but rather evidence of an unconscionable  level of willful neglect, unequal resource allocation by federal, state and local entities and the  indifference of too many elected and community leaders. It’s time for a support-based reform movement.”

“I don’t think the country can wait,” Jackson noted in a statement. “ I don’t think any parent or student can wait for half a century to have the same opportunities, education, jobs as their white male counterparts.”

The Schott Foundation suggests all schools nationwide consider implementing a moratorium on school suspensions, which have been shown to be used disproportionately on minority children and children with disabilities. It also calls for individual assessment and tutoring, and for an increase in art, music, physical education, robotics and foreign language programs.

Interestingly enough, of the states with the worst graduation rates for black boys: Nevada, New York, DC, Connecticut and South Carolina, 90 percent is traditionally Blue Democratic states.

Even though the Black population is significantly less in the states with the highest black male graduation rates over 70 percent (Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Alaska, Nevada, Vermont, New Hampshire, Oregon, Idaho and Montana)  approximately 70 percent of these states are traditional Red Republican states.