The Academic Performance of African-American College Students in Denver

Blacks make up about 6 percent of the 21,000 students at the Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado. Only 16 percent of entering black students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years compared to 25 percent of entering white students.  

Now a new study released by the administration at Metro State College offers a rare glimpse of the academic performance of different racial groups. The study found that the mean grade point average for black students at the college was 2.56. For whites, the mean GPA was 3.04. Nearly one third of the grades received by African-American students in core courses in mathematics, reading, and English are either Ds or Fs.

The study also found that blacks performed less well once they entered college compared to whites with similar standardized test scores and high school GPAs.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.