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Report: Less than 50 Percent of Black males graduate from high school

By The Afro-American Newspaper | Last updated: Aug 30, 2010 - 9:14:24 AM

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WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Fewer than half of all Black males nationwide graduate from high school, according to a new report which paints a grim picture of the current state of education for African-American males.

The findings are part of “The 2010 Schott 50 State Report on Black Males in Public Education.”

According to the report, only 47 percent of Black males graduated from high school in the 2007-2008 school year, compared to 78 percent for White males. While the disparity is alarming, the authors of the report said they believe it's not due to the ability of Black males intellectual abilities.

“It indicates that systemic disparities evident by race, social class, or zip code are influenced more by the social policies and practices that WE put in place to distribute educational opportunities and resources and less by the abilities of Black males,” John H. Jackson, president and CEO of the Schott Foundation, wrote in the report. “Currently, the rate at which Black males are being pushed out of school and into the pipeline to prison far exceeds the rate at which they are graduating and reaching high levels of academic achievement.”

Nationally, the five worst performing states are New York, Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana and Nebraska. Florida has four of the 10 lowest performing districts nationally and New York has two, including New York City and Buffalo.

Baltimore city has a graduation rate of 35 percent, Washington, D.C. lists a rate of 41 percent, Prince George's County, Md., has a rate of 55 percent, and Baltimore County has a rate of 67 percent.

Many educators have taken notice of the trend. Rodney Henderson, principal of Possibility Prep, a new public charter school in Prince George's County, said America must look at how it reaches Black males in the classroom.

“Right now there's a need for a different approach with our African-American men,” said Mr. Henderson, “We know that right now young men are lagging behind in achievement in comparison to young women. The gap is even larger when you add race into the equation.”

The findings are part of The 2010 Schott 50 State Report on Black Males in Public Education.

According to the report, only 47 percent of Black males graduated from high school in the 2007-2008 school year, compared to 78 percent for White males. While the disparity is alarming, the authors of the report said they believe it's not due to the ability of Black males' intellectual abilities.