New York City | The Schott 50 State Report

Inequities in Graduation Rates

Black and White, non-Hispanic male students in New York City graduated at lower rates in 2005/6 than the national average. [1] More than two-thirds of the Black male students were unable to graduate with their cohort. The racial achievement gap is less than the national average due to the low graduation rate of White male students. The graduation rate for Black male students 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	4.3mil.	47%	75%	28%	47%	74%	0%	1%
New York	285,694	39%	75%	37%	37%	75%	1%	0%
New York City	159,555	32%	57%	24%	31%	53%	1%	3%

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Evidence of Inequities

NAEP Grade 4 Reading results for New York City are above those for the nation as a whole for both White, non-Hispanic and Black male students. More than half of the City'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 (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
	New York	22	33	32	12
	New York City	24	39	29	9
Black	USA	59	30	10	1
	New York	54	32	12	2
	New York City	56	33	10	1

At Grade 8 more than half of the City'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 (USA and State—2007, Urban—2005), Reading, Grade 8

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	22	46	30	2
	New York	18	47	33	3
	New York City	24	37	35	5
Black	USA	53	39	8	#
	New York	50	41	8	#
	New York City	59	34	6	#

More than one-third of New York City's Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 4 Mathematics, three times as many as the City's White, non-Hispanic male students.

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
	New York	6	36	48	10
	New York City	13	41	41	5
Black	USA	38	47	14	1
	New York	32	50	17	1
	New York City	37	48	15	1

By Grade 8, more than half of New York City's Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 8 Mathematics and one percent reach the Advanced level.

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
	New York	19	40	32	9
	New York City	21	41	30	8
Black	USA	54	35	10	1
	New York	56	36	7	1
	New York City	59	34	6	1

Discipline, Special Education, and Advanced Placement Inequities

The number of out-of-school suspensions given to Black male students in the New York City public schools was equivalent to four percent of New York City's Black, non-Hispanic male student population and the percentage of out-of-school suspensions given to White male students in New York City was equivalent to two percent, in the 2006/7 school year, as reported to the Office of Civil Rights of the U. S. Department of Education. [2]

Black, non-Hispanic male students were classified as Gifted/Talented a third as often as White non-Hispanic male students in the New York City public schools and were more often placed in Mental Retardation classifications in the 2006/7 school year. If Black male students had been admitted to Gifted/Talent programs at the same rate as White male students, at least an additional 8,000 would have had that opportunity. Preliminary 2006/7 data has been used due to the unreliability of reported 2004/5 data.

Proportionate to enrollment, approximately six times as many White male students as Black male students in the New York City public schools in 2006/7 were allowed to participate in Mathematics Advanced Placement courses and three times as many in Science Advanced Placement courses.

Footnotes:

[1] New York City enrollment and diploma data has been reported to the National Center for Education Statistics irregularly and is not considered as reliable as data from other districts. The data presented here are best estimates, given the available data.

[2] Preliminary 2006/7 data has been used due to the unreliability of reported 2004/5 data.