• Statewide
• Norfolk
• Richmond
• Virginia Beach
  
  

Inequities in Graduation Rates

Black male students in Virginia graduated at higher rates in 2005/6 than the national average for their group, while White male students graduated at approximately the average for their group. The racial achievement gap was, therefore, narrower than average.

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 Virginia are above the average for those for the nation as a whole for both Black and White, non-Hispanic male students. Fewer than half 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 although more than half of the state’s male Black students read
at or above the Basic level, virtually none reach the Advanced level.

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

Only a quarter of Virginia’s Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 4 Mathematics, but that is four times as many as the state’s White, non-Hispanic male students.

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

By Grade 8, more than half of Virginia’s Black male students score above the Basic level in Grade 8 Mathematics and two percent 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 Virginia was equivalent to nineteen percent of Virginia’s Black, non-Hispanic male student population. The number of out-of-school suspensions given to White male students in Virginia was equivalent to seven 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. More than half again as many Black male students in proportion to enrollment were expelled as were White male students.

In proportion to enrollments, less than a third as many of Virginia’s Black male students were admitted to district Gifted and/or Talented programs as were White male students, while over four times 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 three times as many White male students were allowed to take Advanced Placement Mathematics classes and nearly three times as many were allowed to take Advanced Placement Science classes as Black male students.