Life
African American male education achievement
African American school boys. PHOTO/News One
District of Columbia and area students who headed back to school this week are expected to achieve academic excellence regardless of race, gender or economic status, but research shows that African American males are the least likely to attain academic success.
Why African American males are over-represented among students who face retention, suspension, expulsion and overall academic failure and what it will take to significantly improve their educational outcomes was the focus of a Summit on Educational Excellence and Opportunity for African American Males hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council of the Great City Schools on Monday in Washington, D.C.
Educators, researchers, policymakers, advocates, and students participated in the daylong conversation about creative ways some school districts and individual schools have addressed this conundrum.
“African Americans lack equal access to highly effective teachers and principals, safe schools, and challenging college-preparatory classes, and they disproportionately experience school discipline and referrals to special education.
African American student achievement not only lags behind that of their domestic peers by an average of two grade levels, but also behind students in almost every other developed nation. Over a third of African American students do not graduate from high school on time with a regular high school diploma, and only four percent of African American high school graduates interested in college are college-ready across a range of subjects. An even greater number of African American males do not graduate with a regular high school diploma, and African American males also experience disparate rates of incarceration.”
