Blacks Are More Likely to Be Enrolled in School Than Whites

Census_Bureau_seal.svgNew data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that in October 2012 there were 11,918,000 African Americans enrolled in school at all levels of education. This was 31.4 percent of the entire Black population over the age of 3. For Whites, 22.7 percent of the population over the age of 3 was enrolled in school.

There were 2.7 million Black students in high school and 3 million in college or graduate school. Some 8 percent of the Black population over the age of 3 was enrolled in college or graduate school. For Whites the figures was 6.2 percent.

When the numbers are broken down by gender, we find that in high school there are only slightly more females than males. But the gender gap grows significantly in college and graduate school. In 2012, there were 1,886,000 Black women enrolled in colleges and universities compared to 1,152,000 Black men. Thus, Black women accounted for 62 percent of all higher educational enrollments of African Americans.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. This is great news. Very encouraging article. Now all we have to do is work on getting students to finish once they enroll. This is why it is important to vote people in that support college financial aid and grants

  2. There is nothing impressive here. Girls have been outperforming boys ever since girls where allowed to compete fairly. They are simply outstandingly focused, as long as some knuckle-headed guy doesn’t know ’em off. Also girls are better socialized and not stigmatized for carrying a book and studying.

    Black, Latino & low-Income White boys (expect in the rare spots New Jersey or Minneapolis, or where they are as scarce as unicorns, e.g., Maine, Arizona, or Utah) first drop out psychologically and later physically.

    There are far too few male teachers in the school system and fewer Black and Latino ones. No one cares to take this issue up. The President has promised to basically send them to college for free, but getting them prepared for college is the battle.

    Programs that address the predominance of teachers who happen to be female and White must focus teacher on becoming more cultural competent. This should take place in every teaching program in the US. Programs like the Scholar Identity Model now being done in two school districts in Pittsburgh with the support of the Heinz Foundation, or the training conducted for administrators and teachers e.g., The Achievement Gap Institute at Vanderbilt University are both models that should have a wider audience. Instead we have reports of faux-gains that amount to taking the foot off the gas while going up hill.

    So the fact that “statistically” within group measures show an improvement, when disaggregated the data show that present gaps in achievement won’t close until at least 2050 (Shott Report, 2012), and by then I am sure there will be other racially embedded reasons for why Blacks (particularly males) are really not quite cutting it.

    With just over 50% of Black male graduation, but less than 25% of them going on to college and of those that do go to college, unless an athlete, less than 25% of them are graduating. Of those that are fortunate or diligent enough to make it through college, less than 50% of ALL college graduates are landing jobs (after taking on massive debt) of those that can hold it together long enough to go on for a Masters degree, according to Professors Bill Wilson, and D. Pager the likely hood of them landing a decent paying job is left up to the old boy (read White) network of benevolence.

    Too many young boys and men know that the “structural system” is stacked against them, they are feed via mass media that education is for suckers and they are buying it. So before we cheer at this good news ~ let’s make sure we are keeping our foot on the gas, eyes on the road, and not texting instructions to Black and Brown boys, but are finding the time to mentor them.

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