Atlanta | The Schott 50 State Report

Inequities in Graduation Rates

Black male students in Atlanta in 2005/6 graduated at lower rates than the national average, as they had in 2004/5, as did White male students. Therefore, the racial gap is narrower in Georgia than the national average. The graduation rate for Black male students in Atlanta is less than half the Benchmark.

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%
Georgia	308,716	40%	58%	18%	38%	58%	2%	0%
Atlanta City	21,722	34%	58%	24%	34%	59%	1%	-1%

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Evidence of Inequities

NAEP Grade 4 Reading results for Atlanta's White, non-Hispanic male students are significantly above those for the nation as a whole, while those for the district's Black male students are significantly below national levels.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level (USA and State—2007, Urban—2005), Reading, Grade 4

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	26	36	29	9
	Georgia	23	40	30	7
	Atlanta	6	23	46	26
Black	USA	59	30	10	1
	Georgia	59	31	10	#
	Atlanta	71	22	6	#

At Grade 8, two-third's of the district's Black male students read at less than the Basic level and virtually none reach the Advanced level. There is not a significant population of White non-Hispanic male students at Grade 8.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level (USA and State—2007, Urban—2005), R eading, Grade 8

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	22	46	30	2
	Georgia	21	49	28	2
	Atlanta	‡	‡	‡	‡
Black	USA	53	39	8	#
	Georgia	51	40	8	#
	Atlanta	65	30	5	#

Over nine times the share of Atlanta's Blackmale students score below the Basic level in Grade 4 Mathematics as the district's White, non-Hispanic male students. The percentage of the district's White male students scoring at the Advanced level in Grade 4 is quite extraordinary.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level (USA and State—2007, Urban—2005), Mathematics, Grade 4

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	9	38	44	9
	Georgia	10	42	41	7
	Atlanta	7	22	41	30
Black	USA	38	47	14	1
	Georgia	35	51	13	1
	Atlanta	47	42	10	#

By Grade 8, almost three-quarters of Atlanta's Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 8 Mathematics and virtually none reach the Advanced level. There is not a significant population of White non-Hispanic male students at Grade 8.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level (USA and State—2007, Urban—2005), Mathematics, Grade 8

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	18	39	33	10
	Georgia	20	40	32	8
	Atlanta	‡	‡	‡	‡
Black	USA	54	35	10	1
	Georgia	55	35	9	1
	Atlanta	73	23	4	#

Discipline, Special Education, and Advanced Placement Inequities

The number of out-of-school suspensions given to Black male students in the Atlanta public schools was equivalent to seventeen percent of Atlanta's Black, non-Hispanic male student population and the percentage of out-of-school suspensions given to the White male students in Atlanta was equivalent to less than three 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 Atlanta's Gifted and/or Talented programs at nearly ten times the rate for Black, non-Hispanic male students, while Black, non-Hispanic male students were placed in Mental Retardation classifications at nearly six 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 7,200 more would be in those programs.

Black male students in the Atlanta public schools in 2004/5 were allowed to participate in Mathematics and Science Advanced Placement courses at a rate lower than, but comparable to, that of the relatively few White, non-Hispanic male students in the system.