THE STATE OF EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS

THE STATE OF EDUCATION FORAFRICAN AMERICANSTUDENTS

THE STATE OF EDUCATION FORAFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTSOver the past few decades, African American students across the nationhave made real gains in academic achievement. Yet, too many AfricanAmerican students still are not getting the quality education they needand deserve, and the performance of African American students lagsfar behind that of white students. These gaps in achievement aredriven by gaps in opportunity — African American students receivefewer of the within-school resources and experiences that areknown to contribute to academic achievement.In this brief, we’ve gathered the best available national data onAfrican American student achievement and attainment in bothK-12 and higher education, as well as on the unequal opportunitiesthat contribute to these outcomes. We hope that these data will beused to spark conversation — and more important, action — abouthow to accelerate improvement and raise achievement for AfricanAmerican students across the nation.2THE EDUCATION TRUST THE STATE OF EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS

Where do African American studentsattend school?African American students make up a substantial proportion of enrollmentnationwide. About 15 percent of all public school students — or about7.9 million students — are African American. And in some states,African American students make up a far larger portion of public schoolenrollment: Half of students in Mississippi and 45 percent inLouisiana are African American. About a third of students inAlabama, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, and South Carolina areAfrican American.Opportunity and achievement for African American studentsmatter for all types of communities and schools. While many AfricanAmerican students, 46 percent, attend urban schools, morethan half, 54 percent, now attend schools in suburbs, towns,or rural areas. And while about half of African Americanstudents attend schools where the majority of students areAfrican American, 26 percent attend schools where moststudents are white.JUNE 20143

Is performance for African American students improving in keyacademic subjects?In both fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math,performance among African American students hasrisen dramatically in recent years, and gapsbetween African American and white students havenarrowed. It’s important, of course, to look at studentperformance across subjects and grades, but these twomeasures are especially critical. Research shows thatwithout solid reading skills honed in elementary schooland a firm grasp of math by the end of middle school,it is difficult for students to do well going forward.Between 2003 and 2013, scale scores on the NationalAssessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) rose fasterfor African American students than for white students inboth fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math.2003-2013 Improvement on 0Scale Score Improvement, 2003-2013White4THE EDUCATION TRUST THE STATE OF EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTSAfrican American12

And these gains reflect real improvement in skills andknowledge. Over the past two decades, the percentage ofAfrican American eighth-graders who lacked even basicmath skills on NAEP has fallen from 81 percent toless than half. Students at that level struggle withthings like applying arithmetic operations (addition,subtraction, multiplication, and division) and with usingdiagrams, charts, and graphs to help solve problems.In fourth-grade reading, the percentage of African Americanstudents without even basic skills — those who havetrouble locating information in a passage, identifying themain idea of a text, or interpreting what a word means —has fallen from 69 percent to 50 percent.During the same time period, the percentage of AfricanAmerican students performing at a proficient oradvanced level more than doubled in fourth-gradereading and has increased sevenfold in eighthgrade math. Far too few African American students areperforming at these levels — but the changes representmarked improvement over past performance.NAEP Performance:Percent of African American Students Below Basic10050806040408169305049201710200NAEP Performance: Percent of African AmericanStudents Proficient or Advanced280Fourth-Grade Reading1992Eighth-Grade Math2013Fourth-Grade Reading199214Eighth-Grade Math2013JUNE 20145

Are schools performing well enough for African American students?In both fourth-grade reading and eighthgrade math, African American studentsare about two and a half times aslikely as white students to lack basic skillsand only about one-third as likely to beproficient or advanced.These improvements are encouraging. However, too fewAfrican American students demonstrate the knowledgeand skills they need to be successful in school and in life.And despite gap-narrowing, African American studentsstill lag far behind their white peers on NAEP.2013 Performance: Eighth-Grade Math2013 Performance: Fourth-Grade Reading1001001780604532200345021African AmericanBasicWhiteProficient or Advanced44383940200Below Basic6806040144917African AmericanBelow BasicTHE EDUCATION TRUST THE STATE OF EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTSBasicWhiteProficient or Advanced

Are schools preparing African American students for collegeand careers?But despite these gains, there’s still a long way to go.African American students remain underrepresentedamong AP test-takers: 15 percent of graduates inthe class of 2013 were African American, but AfricanAmerican students made up only 9 percent of thosewho took AP tests. And even fewer — 5 percent —of those who passed an AP exam were African American.AP Participation and Success in the Class of 20138060PercentAfrican American students are increasingly taking the stepsnecessary for success after high school. Over the pastfive years, the number of African American high schoolgraduates taking the ACT rose by 22 percent, and thenumber taking the SAT rose by 12 percent. What’smore, the number of African American graduates taking atleast one AP exam more than tripled between 2002and 2012, outpacing the growth in the number of AfricanAmerican graduates.58 5661402015095African AmericanPercent of GraduatesPercent of GraduatesTaking AP ExamsWhitePercent of GraduatesPassing AP ExamsJUNE 20147

And just taking these types of assessments doesn’tmean that students are prepared. Few African Americangraduates who took the ACT met any of its collegereadiness benchmarks, which are intended to showwhether students have a good chance of succeedingin first-year college courses. Just 1 in 20 AfricanAmerican graduates met all four college-readinessbenchmarks, compared with 1 in 3 white graduateswho did so.Are African Americanstudents graduating readyfor the next step?Far too many African American students leave high schoolwithout a diploma. Nationwide, just over 2 in 3 AfricanAmerican students graduated from high school on time in2012. That’s compared with 86 percent of white students.2012 Adjusted CohortGraduation RatePercent of 2013 Graduates MeetingCollege-Readiness ding14MathAfrican American810ScienceWhite5All FourAfricanAmericanTHE EDUCATION TRUST THE STATE OF EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTSWhite

And those who graduate are not necessarily readyfor adult life. For example, only about 60 percentof young African American graduates who wereinterested in joining the U.S. Army met minimumacademic standards.Percent Meeting Minimum Armed ServicesVocational Aptitude Battery Requirements1008060846140200Do African American studentshave adequate opportunitiesto learn?Gaps exist before children enter school, but inequitableand insufficient opportunities to learn exacerbate thegaps between African American students and their whitepeers and contribute to African American students’low performance.For example, only 35 percent of African Americanstudents who had high math performance in fifth gradewere enrolled in at least Algebra I in eighth grade,compared with more than 60 percent of whitefifth-graders with high math performance.High-Performing Fifth-Graders' Enrollment inAlgebra I or Higher in Eighth GradeAfrican AmericanWhite8063604020035African AmericanWhiteJUNE 20149

This trend continues into high school. Among AfricanAmerican students with high potential for success inAP math courses, only 3 in 10 took any such course.The same is true in science. Part of this is because 15percent of African American high school studentsattend schools that don’t offer at least one AP course ineach of the four core subjects: math, English, science,and social studies.African American students also are highly likely to bedisciplined in ways that take them out of the classroom.Although African American students made up16 percent of students in the 2012 Civil RightsData Collection, they made up 33 percent ofstudents suspended once, 42 percent of studentssuspended more than once, and 34 percent ofstudents expelled.Percent of Enrolled and DisciplinedStudents Who Are African AmericanPercent of Students WhoAre African American100806040332003416Enrolled1042THE EDUCATION TRUST THE STATE OF EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTSSuspendedOnceSuspendedMultiple TimesExpelled

Are African American students going to college? And where?Overall, African American students are enrolling incollege in larger numbers. African American high schoolgraduates enrolled in college the following fall increased,from 57 percent in 2002 to 62 percent in 2012.African American students made up 15 percent of allundergraduates in 2012 compared with 12 percent10 years ago. These are impressive gains, but AfricanAmerican students are still attending college atrates than their white peers.African American students are also more likely thanwhite students to begin college in either a for-profit orcommunity college, where their chances of earning adegree are lower.Immediate College-Going, 1992-2012College Enrollmentby Race and Sector, Fall 2012Percentage of High School Graduates Enrolled in College the Fall After ican ercent6540lower70For-ProfitCommunity CollegeAfrican AmericanPublic or Private NonprofitResearch UniversityWhiteJUNE 201411

Are African American students graduating from college?While access to higher education for African Americanstudents has been increasing, gaps in degreecompletion persist. Consider six-year graduation ratesat four-year colleges:40%63%Of those students who initially enrolled at any twoyear college with the intent to transfer, white studentsare twice as likely as African American students (22versus 11 percent) to transfer to a four-year institutionwithin three years.As a result, only 20 percent of African Americanstudents ages 25 to 29 held at least a bachelor’s in 2013,compared with 40 percent of their white peers.WhiteBachelor’s Degree Attainmentof Young Adults (Ages 25-29), 2013African American10080PercentAt community colleges, 13 percentof African American students earn anassociate degree or certificate withinthree years compared with 24percent of white students.60402040200African American12THE EDUCATION TRUST THE STATE OF EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTSWhite