The Schott Education Inequity Index (SEII) highlights disparities in the quality of education provided to Black, non-Hispanic males in comparison to White, non-Hispanic males.[1] It seeks to balance concerns about the absolute level of graduation rates with concern for the gap between Black male and White, non-Hispanic male graduation rates. The SEII shows that some states have a small gap, but comparatively poor graduation results for both groups, while some have better graduation results for Black students, but larger gaps between them and White students.

Graduation rates are calculated as the percentage of the students enrolled in ninth grade receiving diplomas with their cohort at the end of twelfth grade.[2] This straight-forward measure is similar to those used by many researchers, states and districts. It allows “apple to apple” comparisons of varied districts and states. Unless otherwise noted, enrollment statistics are from the National Center for Education Statistics. Diploma statistics are estimated from 2005/6 Grade 12 enrollments on the basis of three-year averages of ratios between Grade 12 enrollments and diplomas.

The SEII is calculated by subtracting the graduation rate for Black male students from 100%, the result of which is then added to the difference between the graduation rates of White and Black male students. Schools, districts or states with the highest non-graduation rates for Black male students and the largest gap between the graduation rates of White and Black male students, therefore, receive the highest (worst) SEII scores. The SEII, indicating the degree of racial inequity between those groups, illustrates the absolute effectiveness—or lack of it—in the education of Black, non-Hispanic males and the difference between the success of schools with that population and their White peers.

State By State Graduation Rates for Black Male Students

Table One shows the SEII and its components for the states and the nation as a whole. Index, graduation rates and gaps below the national averages, and SEIIs above the national average, are shown in red.

Table One

The graduation rate for Black male students for the nation as a whole in 2005/2006 was 47%, that is, most Black male students did not graduate with their cohort. On the other hand, New Jersey and Arizona had graduation rates for their male Black students close to, or higher than, the national average graduation rate for White, non-Hispanic male students. Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, New York, Wyoming, Indiana, and Florida had conspicuously large gaps between their graduation rates for Black and White male students.
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Table Two

Table two compares graduation rates, the SEII, the gap in graduation rates between Black and White, non-Hispanic male students by state, arranged by total Black male enrollment in descending order. Texas has overtaken Florida as the state with the largest enrollment of Black male students. It also has the highest graduation rate for Black male students among the ten states with the largest Black enrollments, while Michigan has the lowest, graduating barely a third of its Black male students with their Grade 9 cohort. In general, states with smaller Black enrollments have higher graduation rates for their Black male students.
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Table Three

Table Three displays estimated 2005/6 district graduation rates for Black and White, non-Hispanic male students sorted by Black male graduation rates.
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Table Four

Table Four lists districts by the size of the gap between graduation rates for White and Black male students.
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Table Five

This table sorts the district data by Black male enrollment.
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Table Six

Approximately 100,000 Black male students do not graduate with their Grade 9 cohort each year. Table Six displays estimated 2005/2006 numbers of these students for districts enrolling 10,000 or more Black male students. The New York City and Detroit public schools alone account for 20% of the nation’s Black male students who do not graduate with their peers. The worst eleven districts in this regard account for half the nation’s Black male students who do not graduate with their peers.
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Footnotes
1. Black students are defined by the U. S. Department of Education as "students having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa as reported by their school."
2. Districts which have high pre-ninth grade drop-out rates in a particular year will find that the convention of using grade 9 enrollments as a base inflates their graduation rates. Those that have conspicuous enrollment increases at grade 9 in a particular year will find that the convention of using grade 9 enrollments as a base deflates their graduation rates. Districts in which these conditions persist year after year will find the convention useful in facilitating inter-district and national comparisons.