The Racial Gap in High School Graduations Leaves Blacks Far Behind Whites in College Eligibility

As was always the case, the minimum prerequisite for entrance to college is a high school diploma. But even with this most basic credential, blacks trail whites by a significant margin.

Nationwide, about 69 percent of all students graduate from high school on time. But in graduation rates there are major differences between blacks and whites. In the United States, 76.1 percent of all white students graduate from high school on time. For blacks, only 51.2 percent of all students graduate from high school on schedule.

According to a new report from the EPE Research Center, in particular states there are also major racial differences in high school graduation rates. The highest black student high school graduation rate is in Arizona. There, 67.6 percent of all black students earn their high school diploma. New Jersey has the second-highest rate for blacks at 67.3 percent.

The lowest black student high school graduation rate is in Nevada. Only slightly more than one third of all black students in Nevada graduate from high school. In Michigan only 38.4 percent of black students graduate from high school.

Hawaii is the only state in the union where blacks are more likely than whites to graduate from high school on time. The widest racial gaps in high school graduation rates are found in Michigan, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.

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