Palm Beach County Public Schools
Inequities in Graduation Rates
Black male students in Palm Beach County in 2005/6 graduated at lower rates than the national average, as they had in 2004/5, as did White male students. Because of this, the racial gap is slightly narrower in Palm Beach County than the national average. Although outcomes have improved over those of last year, only one-third of the county's grade nine cohort of Black male students graduated on-time.
The Benchmark for graduation rates of Black male students for school districts enrolling more than 10,000 Black male students is 82% (Fort Bend, Texas).
|
Male Students |
Graduation Rate 2005/6 (est.) |
Graduation Rate 2004/5 |
||||||
|
Black Males |
Black |
White |
Gap |
Black |
White |
Black Change |
White Change |
|
|
USA |
4.3 mil. |
47% |
75% |
28% |
47% |
74% |
0% |
1% |
|
Florida |
326,757 |
38% |
60% |
22% |
35% |
56% |
3% |
4% |
|
Palm Beach |
26,259 |
33% |
60% |
26% |
29% |
51% |
4% |
9% |
Discipline, Special Education, and Advanced Placement Inequities
The number of out-of-school suspensions given to Black male students in the Palm Beach County public schools was equivalent to twenty-four percent of Palm Beach's Black, non-Hispanic male student population and the percentage of out-of-school suspensions given to the White male students in Palm Beach was equivalent to nine percent in the 2004/5 school year, as reported to the Office of Civil Rights of the U. S. Department of Education.
White, non-Hispanic male students were admitted to Palm Beach's Gifted and/or Talented programs at more than four times the rate for Black, non-Hispanic male students, while Black, non-Hispanic male students were placed in Mental Retardation classifications at nearly four times the rate for White male students. If Black male students had been admitted to Gifted and/or Talented programs at the same rate as White male students, at least 1,500 more would be in those programs.
Black male students in the Palm Beach public schools in 2004/5 were allowed to participate in Mathematics and Science Advanced Placement courses at a rate of about one-ninth or less than that of White, non-Hispanic male students.