Tracking the Educational Progress of 21st-Century African American Students

department_of_educationA new report from the U.S. Department of Education tracks the educational progress of students who were sophomores in high school in the year 2002 through the year 2012. The data shows that 19.8 percent of the African American high school sophomore in 2002 had gone on to earn at least a bachelor’s degree over the next decade. This is less than half the rate for Whites. Nearly 40 percent of White high school sophomores in 2002 had earned a bachelor’s degree by 2012.

The results showed that another 7.5 percent of Black sophomores in 2002 had earned an associate’s degree, but no higher degree, as had 9.1 percent of White high school sophomores in 2002.

Nearly 5 percent of Black high school sophomores in 2002 never completed high school compared to 1.8 percent of Whites.

Related Articles

1 COMMENT

  1. The reasons for the relative underperformance of blacks vs. whites. vs. Asian-Americans are many. President Obama, who would never condescend to send his children to the D.C. (or before that Chicago) public schools, continues to sacrifice the education of poor black Americans so that he can maintain the support of the powerful, competition-suppressing teachers’ unions. A child raised by two parents, both of who graduated from high school and college is more likely to graduate from both high school and college. Should that surprise anyone. Our parents are our most important teachers. Rather than instinctively conclude unequal results are irrefutable evidence of an irrationally discriminatory process, if–IF–our sincere goal is to reduce the severity and frequency of those unequal outcomes, we should be receptive to examining all the contributing factors. Fail to do so and we will continue to get the undesirable results. Eric Holder recently reinforced that Americans are cowards when it comes to discussing race. I am very willing to be called names because that cost is worth the benefit of the benefits of pursuing truth.

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Tuskegee University Flight School Receives $6.7 Million in Federal Funding

With a $6.7 million investment from the federal government, Tuskegee University will launch a new bachelor's degree in aviation science. The program will teach students about aviation science and technology and provide them with flight school training.

Three African Americans Appointed to University Faculty Positions

The faculty appointments are Dexter Blackman at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Stephanie Henderson at Alcorn State University in Mississippi, and Yolanda Pierce at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Virginia State University Approved to Launch Master’s Degree in Data Analytics

The master's degree in data analytics will prepare students to use data to make strategic technology and business decisions. The new degree program will be the 14th established master's degree at Virginia State University.

Samuel Frimpong Honored for Outstanding Contributions to Mineral Industry Education

Dr. Frimpong was honored by the Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration with the 2024 Mineral Industry Education Award. He currently serves as a professor of mineral engineering, the Robert H. Quenon Endowed Chair, and vice provost for graduate education at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Featured Jobs