Now Half of All Black Women Entering Four-Year Colleges Go On to Earn Their Degree

According to the most recent statistics, the nationwide college graduation rate for black students stands at an appallingly low rate of 45 percent. This figure is 19 percentage points below the 64 percentage rate for white students. This is a huge disparity.

This year the black male graduation rate remained steady at a very low 38 percent. Looking back over 20 years, the positive news is that black men have improved their graduation rate from 28 percent to 38 percent.

The most impressive story is the performance of black women. This year the college graduation rate for black women rose by one percentage point, to 50 percent. This is the first time in history where one half of all black women students who enter a particular college will go on to earn their degree from the same institution. Black women have achieved spectacular improvement in college completion rates from 34 percent in 1990 to 50 percent in 2009. Despite this progress, black women have a college completion rate that is 17 percentage points below the rate for white women.

Copyright © 2009. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.