Graduation rates are an indication of whether schools, districts and states are fulfilling their minimal responsibility of providing students with a k-12 education meeting local standards for a high school diploma. There are measures of educational achievement, such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ “report card” on student achievement at various grades in specific subject areas. And there are opportunity to learn measures that can be derived from Special Education classifications and school discipline rates. The percentage of students classified as Mentally Retarded or Gifted/Talented varies enormously from district to district and state to state and within districts and states for the various ethnic/racial groups and by gender. Where that variation shows a pattern of disproportionality, it indicates that some groups are disproportionately restricted from opportunities to participate in the general education program, on the one hand, or from the enriched classroom settings of Gifted/Talented programs, on the other. Advanced Placement enrollments (which are tracked by the U.S. Department of Education for Science and Mathematics) also indicate opportunities for learning that vary among districts, states and student groups.

For each of these measures, “benchmark” states or districts have been identified as realistic models of good practice.

Out of school suspensions and expulsions effectively remove students from educational settings, very often resulting in “dropouts” before graduation. Where these are disproportionately given to students of a particular group, such as Black, non-Hispanic males, they disproportionately limit the educational opportunities of that group.

Inequities in Educational Quality

National Assessment of Educational Progress

The National Assessment of Educational Progress measures achievement levels for various subject areas for the nation as a whole, for states and for selected districts. Not every state or district is measured every
year.

For Grade 8 Reading, the national percentage of White, non-Hispanic male students scoring at or above the Basic level was 78% in 2007. The percentage of Black, non-Hispanic male students scoring at or above the Basic level in Grade 8 was 46% in 2007.

The Benchmark for Grade 8 Reading is the state of Massachusetts, with 62% of Black male students scoring at or above Basic in 2007.

For Grade 8 Mathematics, the national percentage of White, non-Hispanic male students scoring at or above the Basic level was 82% in 2007. The percentage of Black, non-Hispanic male students scoring at or above the Basic level in Grade 8 was 46% in 2007.

The Benchmark for Grade 8 Mathematics is Texas, with 63% of Black male students scoring at or above Basic.

Inequities in Special Education and Discipline

Suspensions, expulsions and Special Education classifications are important considerations in graduation rates and educational achievement. In the country as a whole, the number of Black students in Special Education classes is disproportionately high and the number in Gifted/Talented programs is disproportionately low. The number of Black students, particularly Black male students, who receive out-of-school suspensions and are expelled is also disproportionately high.

Gifted/Talented

While Black male students comprise nearly 9% of public school enrollments, less than 4% of those placed in Gifted/Talented programs are Black, non-Hispanic males. Or to put it another way, 3% of Black male students are in Gifted/Talented programs, as compared to 7.6% of White, non-Hispanic male students.

The state Benchmark for the percentage of Black male students in Gifted/Talented programs is 5.7% (Maryland).

The GOAL for Gifted/Talented classification for Black male students is parity between Black males' percentage of enrolled students and their percentage classified as Gifted/Talented.

In most American districts, Black, non-Hispanic students are placed in Gifted/Talented programs at a rate half that as would be expected from their level of enrollment.

If Black students were in Gifted/Talented programs proportionate to their enrollments, there would be at least an additional 200,000 male Black students in those programs.

Mental Retardation

According to data from the U. S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, three percent of Black male students are classified as Mentally Retarded, as compared to 1.4% of White, non-Hispanic male students; even though Black male students are 9% of student enrollments, they are 20% of Mental Retardation classifications. It is most likely that the way in which the Mental Retardation classification is determined and applied by schools and districts is responsible for the 300% over-classification of Black male students as compared to White, non-Hispanic male students. As a result, nationally there may be as many as 20,000 Black male students who are inappropriately classified as Mentally Retarded.

The GOAL for Mental Retardation classifications of male Black students is 1.5% or less, approximate parity with the White, non-Hispanic male rate.

District Discipline Policies

Out-of-school suspensions also disproportionately affect Black students, occurring at nearly three times the rate for Black male students as for White, non-Hispanic male students. In many districts, virtually all students who are expelled are Black and the overwhelming majority of these are males. If Black male students were suspended and expelled at the same rates as White male students, half a million fewer out-of-schools suspensions and at least 10,000 fewer expulsions would occur to them.

The State Benchmark for out-of-school suspensions of Black male students is 9% (New York).

The GOAL for out-of-school suspensions and expulsions for Black male students is parity between the percentage of Black male students enrolled and the percentage given out-of-school suspensions or expelled.

Summary

Over-classification as Mentally Retarded, under-classification as Gifted/Talented, under-representation in Advanced Placement classes, and disproportionate out-of-school suspensions and expulsions combine to limit educational opportunities and reduce achievement levels for Black students, particularly Black male students.