Support NorthStar News - Make a Donation

video icon  Video of the Week

US to hold direct peace talks with Taliban

Search Past Issues

September 27, 2012

Black boys graduating
Black boys graduating. They do best in Maine.

Highest Graduation Rates for Black Boys Occur in Unlikely States

by Frederick H. Lowe
Seven states with small black populations share the distinction of having the highest high school graduation rates for the black boys, and 11 states and the District of Columbia with the largest black populations, share the distinction of having the lowest high school graduation rates for black boys.

The states with the highest graduation rates are: Alaska, Maine, Vermont, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Arizona, according to a report titled, "The Urgency of Now: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males 2012." All of the states reported graduation rates of 70 percent or higher for black boys, according to the study.

The high school graduation rate in the 2009-2010 school year for black boys in Maine was 97 percent, exceeding the graduate rate for white males, which was 86 percent.  In Vermont, the graduation rate for black boys was 82 percent, compared with the graduation for their white classmates of 81 percent.

Arizona reported an 84 percent graduation rate for black boys, compared with an 82 percent graduation rate for their white classmates.

On the flipside, Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Washington, D. C., reported the lowest graduation rates for black boys.  All of the states and the District of Columbia reported graduation rates below 50 percent.

In the District of Columbia, 38 percent of black boys graduated in 2010, compared with 82 percent of white male students.  And it gets worse.  New York's graduation rate for black boys was 37 percent, compared with 78 percent for their white counterparts. In Illinois, the graduation rate for black boys was 47 percent. In Iowa, it was 41 percent and in Delaware it was 47 percent.

The states with the lowest graduation rates also employ large numbers of black teachers, black principals and black administrators and sometimes, black superintendents.

So what is the cause for this wide discrepancy?

"In schools with fewer black students, they do better in school," Michael Holzman, research consultant for the Schott Foundation for Public Education, which is based in Cambridge, Mass, tells The NorthStar News & Analysis. "States with fewer black students don't operate segregated schools with teachers who are not as well educated and do not have much teaching experience."

"In school systems that operate segregated schools, there are high out-of-school suspension rates for black boys, Holzman said.  In predominately white schools, you have more experienced teachers, more resources and well-equipped scientific labs such as chemistry labs."

Shouldn't black teachers, principals and administrators boost the academic performance of black boys? In answering the question, Holzman quoted W.E.B. DuBois, who said racism often operates through black administrators because they owe their jobs to whites.

The Northstar News & Analysis, Inc.
Chicago, IL | 312.504.0223
Copyright © The Northstar News & Analysis, Inc.
Contact Us: info@TheNorthstarNews.com
Privacy Policy

My statusContact Us on Skype