• Statewide
• Jefferson County

Inequities in Graduation Rates

Black male students in Kentucky graduated at higher rates in 2005/6 than the national average, while White male students graduated at rates lower than the national average, as they had in 2004/5. As a consequence, the racial gap is much narrower in Kentucky than the national 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 Kentucky are lower than those for the nation as a whole for White, non-Hispanic male students and slightly higher than the national average for Black male students.

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

At Grade 8, in line with national results, more than half of the state's Black male students read at less than the Basic level, which is twice the proportion of the state's White male students, and just one percent reach the Advanced level.

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

Twice the share of Kentucky's Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 4 Mathematics as the state's White, non-Hispanic male students, a result that is, however, better than the national average.

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

By Grade 8, over half of Kentucky's Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 8 Mathematics and not one percent reached 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 Kentucky was equivalent to 13% of Kentucky's Black, non-Hispanic male student population. The number of out-of-school suspensions given to White male students in Kentucky was equivalent to nine 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.

Approximately one-third the percentage of Black male students were admitted to district Gifted and/or Talented programs as White male students, while more Black than White male students were classified as Mentally Retarded. If Black male children had been admitted to Kentucky's Gifted and/or Talented programs at the same rate as White male children, at least 1,600 more would have been in those programs.

Nearly 2,000 White male students were allowed to take Advanced Placement Mathematics and Science classes, while approximately 50 of the state's Black male students were in those classes.