• Statewide
• Milwaukee
  
  

Inequities in Graduation Rates

Black male students in Wisconsin graduated at much lower rates in 2005/6 than the national average for their group, while White male students graduated at higher rates than the average for their group. The racial achievement gap was, therefore, much wider than average. The graduation rate for Black male students was less than half the Benchmark.

The Benchmark for graduation rates of Black male students for states enrolling more than 10,000 Black male students is 74% (New Jersey).

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Evidence of Inequities

NAEP Grade 4 Reading results for Wisconsin are above the national average for White, non-Hispanic male students and below average for Black male students. Two-thirds of the state’s Black male students read below the Basic level at Grade 4.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Reading, Grade 4, 2007

At Grade 8 two-thirds of the state’s Black male students read at less than the Basic level and one percent reach the Advanced level.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Reading, Grade 8, 2007

More than half of Wisconsin’s Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 4 Mathematics, nearly seven times as many as the state’s White, non-Hispanic male students.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Mathematics, Grade 4, 2007

By Grade 8, almost three-quarters of Wisconsin’s Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 8 Mathematics and virtually none reach the Advanced level.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Mathematics, Grade 8, 2007

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

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

Discipline, Special Education, and Advanced Placement Inequities

The number of out-of-school suspensions given to Black male students in Wisconsin was equivalent to twenty one percent of Wisconsin’s Black, non-Hispanic male student population. The number of out-of-school suspensions given to White male students in Wisconsin was equivalent to four percent of the state’s White, non-Hispanic male enrollment in the 2004/5 school year, as reported to the Office of Civil Rights of the U. S. Department of Education. In proportion to enrollment, more than twice as many Black male students were expelled as were White male students.

In proportion to enrollments, less than a quarter as many of Wisconsin’s Black male students were admitted to district Gifted and/or Talented programs as were White male students, while over twice as many were classified as Mentally Retarded. If Black male students had been admitted to Gifted and/or Talented programs at the same rate as White male students, at least 12,000 more would be in those programs.

Given their respective shares in the student population, more than 1.5 times as many male White students were allowed to take Advanced Placement Mathematics classes and 1.5 times as many were allowed to take Advanced Placement Science classes as Black male students.