• Statewide
• Baltimore City
• Baltimore County
• Montgomery County
• Prince George’s County

Inequities in Graduation Rates

Black and White male students in Maryland graduated at higher rates in 2005/6 than the national average, as they had in 2004/5. The rate for Black male students declined slightly between the two school years, widening the gap to near 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 Maryland are higher than those for the nation as a whole for both White, non-Hispanic and Black male students. Nevertheless, slightly more than half of Black male students in the state 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 nearly three times the proportion of the state's Black male students read at less than the Basic level than is the case for the state's White male students, and virtually none reach the Advanced level. However, more than half the Black male students scored above the Basic level, which is better than the national average.

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

More than four times the share of Maryland's Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 4 Mathematics 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

By Grade 8, over half of Maryland's Black male students score above the Basic level in Grade 8 Mathematics and an unusual two percent reach the Advanced level, double the national average.

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 Maryland was equivalent to fourteen percent of Maryland's Black, non-Hispanic male student population. The number of out-of-school suspensions given to White male students in Maryland 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. In proportion to enrollment, three times as many Black male students were expelled as were White male students.

Approximately one-third of the percentage of Black male students were admitted to district Gifted and/or Talented programs as White male students, while more than two times as many were classified as Mentally Retarded. If Black male children had been admitted to Maryland's Gifted and/or Talented programs at the same rate as White male children, at least 18,000 more would have been in those programs.

Given their respective shares in the student population, more than five times as many White male students were allowed to take Advanced Placement Mathematics classes and more than four times as many also were allowed to take Advanced Placement Science classes as Black male students.