Texas | The Schott 50 State Report

Inequities in Graduation Rates

Black male students in Texas 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).

Male Students		Graduation Rate 2005/6 (est.)			Graduation Rate 2004/5
	Black Males	Black	White	Gap	Black	White	Black Change	White Change
USA	4.3mil.	47%	75%	28%	47%	74%	0%	1%
Texas	341,115	58%	74%	16%	53%	73%	5%	1%

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Evidence of Inequities

NAEP Grade 4 Reading results for Texas are above the average for those for the nation as a whole for both Black and White, non-Hispanic male students. 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

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	26	36	29	9
	Texas	21	38	32	10
Black	USA	59	30	10	1
	Texas	51	35	13	1

At Grade 8 nearly half of the state’s Black male students read at less than the Basic level and virtually none reach the Advanced level.

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

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	22	46	30	2
	Texas	18	45	35	3
Black	USA	53	39	8	#
	Texas	49	42	9	#

Only a quarter of Texas Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 4 Mathematics, but that is five 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

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	9	38	44	9
	Texas	5	35	50	10
Black	USA	38	47	14	1
	Texas	27	51	20	1

By Grade 8, nearly two-thirds of Texas male Black students score at or above the Basic level in Grade 8 Mathematics and one percent reach the Advanced level.

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

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	18	39	33	10
	Texas	11	34	41	14
Black	USA	54	35	10	1
	Texas	37	46	15	1

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 Texas was equivalent to fifteen percent of Texas’ Black, non-Hispanic male student population. The number of out-of-school suspensions given to White male students in Texas 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 half again as many Black male students were expelled as were White male students.

Less than half as many of Texas’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, in proportion to enrollments. If Black male students had been admitted to Gifted and/or Talented programs at the same rate as White male students, at least 15,000 more would be in those programs.

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