Unstack the Odds: Help All Kids Access College—and Graduate!
by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)
6. Black Males: A Crisis, Pt 1
“Every dude wanna be da "hardest," every girl wanna be "the baddest bitch," okay, koo, tell me where u gon be in 10 years when u tryna make ends meet, no job, no future for yaself......U still wanna be "Hood???" I understand I got a lil bit in me, but I will NEVER go back to that mentality!!”—J____ F_____, posting on Facebook, March 7, 2011.
Rapper and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z said, regarding his song “American Dreamin,’” that “our aim is the same as everyone, shooting for the American dream of success and wealth, but the target is a little different: Instead of trying to land in college or in a good job, I’m trying to get rich in the streets.” (Jay-Z, Decoded, New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2010, p. 33.) As the entertainer put it, “but it’s just a rational response to the reality we faced. No one was going to help us. Not even our fathers stuck around.” (Ibid. p. 86.)
Donna Ford had earlier studied variances in achievement between gifted Black males and female adolescents. Ford summarized those differences as follows: “Black males were more likely than females to be underachievers; they exerted considerably less effort in school and held more negative attitudes about school than females. They found school less relevant and personally meaningful than did their female counterparts. Further, Black males were more pessimistic about social factors than were Black females. For example, several of the early adolescent Black males spoke with anger and disappointment about the injustices Blacks must wrestle with.” (Donna Y. Ford, Reversing Underachievement Among Gifted Black Students: Promising Practices and Programs, New York: Teachers College Press, 1996, p. 128.)
In October 2010, The Council of the Great City Schools issued its research report called A Call For Change: The Social And Educational Factors Contributing To The Outcomes Of Black Males In Urban Schools. In his preface, Executive Director of the Council Michael Casserly pulled no punches: “The nation’s young Black males are in a state of crisis. They do not have the same opportunities as their male or female counterparts across the country. . . . At almost every juncture, the odds are stacked against these young men in ways that result in too much unfulfilled potential and too many fractured lives.” (A Call For Change: The Social And Educational Factors Contributing To The Outcomes Of Black Males In Urban Schools, The Council of the Great City Schools, October 2010, p. iii.)
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/opinion/A-Call-For-Change.pdf
The report summarized the situation in which Black kids may find themselves:
In 2008, Black children ages 18 and under were three times more likely to live in single-parent households than White children. Nearly two-thirds of all Black children lived in a single-parent household.
In 2007, one out of every three Black children lived in poverty compared with one out of every ten White children. (Ibid., p. 3)
Further, it supported the summary statement that “Black males continue to perform lower than their peers throughout the country on almost every indicator” (Ibid., p. 2) with these facts:
Between 2003 and 2009, the average reading scale of large city (LC) Black males was lower than the average score of White males in national public shools (NP) by at least 28 points at grade 4 and 29 points at grade 8. (Ibid., p. 3)
In 2009, the average reading scale score of large city (LC) Black males who were not eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (Non-FRPL) was one point lower at grade 4 and seven points lower at grade 8 than the score of White males in national public schools (NP) who were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL). (Ibid., p. 4)
In 2009, the average mathematics scale score of large city (LC) Black students in grade 4 and 8 was significantly lower than Hispanic students in large cities (LC). Both were lower than White students in national public schools (NP). (Ibid.)
As for the report’s “Factor 4: College and Career Preparedness,” Black males were, once again, found to be behind, as these data indicate:
Black males were more likely, compared with White males, to drop out of high school and not graduate. Fewer Black males take Advanced Placement exams or enroll in two- or four-year colleges after graduation. Furthermore, the average SAT and ACT scores of Black males were lower than those of White males. (Ibid., p. 5)
Three out of 10 Black males enrolled in a four-year institution, compared with four out of 10 White males. (Ibid.)
Approximately 15 percent of Black males graduated in four years and about one-third graduated in five years compared with 33 percent of White males graduating in four years and one-half graduating in five years. (Ibid., p. 6)
Executive Director Casserly anticipated the reaction to this report. As he stated: “This report is likely to make people angry, and it should. We hope that this is a louder and more jolting wake-up call to the nation than this country is used to hearing. The fact that the previous calls have fallen on so many deaf ears is not encouraging, but we are convinced that we must ring the alarms one more time and play a larger role in setting this situation right.” He finished by saying this: “With so many of our citizens lacking access to the fruits of the richest nation on earth, our aspirations as a truly just nation are called into question.” (Ibid.)
Donna Ford had earlier studied variances in achievement between gifted Black males and female adolescents. Ford summarized those differences as follows: “Black males were more likely than females to be underachievers; they exerted considerably less effort in school and held more negative attitudes about school than females. They found school less relevant and personally meaningful than did their female counterparts. Further, Black males were more pessimistic about social factors than were Black females. For example, several of the early adolescent Black males spoke with anger and disappointment about the injustices Blacks must wrestle with.” (Donna Y. Ford, Reversing Underachievement Among Gifted Black Students: Promising Practices and Programs, New York: Teachers College Press, 1996, p. 128.)
In October 2010, The Council of the Great City Schools issued its research report called A Call For Change: The Social And Educational Factors Contributing To The Outcomes Of Black Males In Urban Schools. In his preface, Executive Director of the Council Michael Casserly pulled no punches: “The nation’s young Black males are in a state of crisis. They do not have the same opportunities as their male or female counterparts across the country. . . . At almost every juncture, the odds are stacked against these young men in ways that result in too much unfulfilled potential and too many fractured lives.” (A Call For Change: The Social And Educational Factors Contributing To The Outcomes Of Black Males In Urban Schools, The Council of the Great City Schools, October 2010, p. iii.)
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/opinion/A-Call-For-Change.pdf
The report summarized the situation in which Black kids may find themselves:
In 2008, Black children ages 18 and under were three times more likely to live in single-parent households than White children. Nearly two-thirds of all Black children lived in a single-parent household.
In 2007, one out of every three Black children lived in poverty compared with one out of every ten White children. (Ibid., p. 3)
Further, it supported the summary statement that “Black males continue to perform lower than their peers throughout the country on almost every indicator” (Ibid., p. 2) with these facts:
Between 2003 and 2009, the average reading scale of large city (LC) Black males was lower than the average score of White males in national public shools (NP) by at least 28 points at grade 4 and 29 points at grade 8. (Ibid., p. 3)
In 2009, the average reading scale score of large city (LC) Black males who were not eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (Non-FRPL) was one point lower at grade 4 and seven points lower at grade 8 than the score of White males in national public schools (NP) who were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL). (Ibid., p. 4)
In 2009, the average mathematics scale score of large city (LC) Black students in grade 4 and 8 was significantly lower than Hispanic students in large cities (LC). Both were lower than White students in national public schools (NP). (Ibid.)
As for the report’s “Factor 4: College and Career Preparedness,” Black males were, once again, found to be behind, as these data indicate:
Black males were more likely, compared with White males, to drop out of high school and not graduate. Fewer Black males take Advanced Placement exams or enroll in two- or four-year colleges after graduation. Furthermore, the average SAT and ACT scores of Black males were lower than those of White males. (Ibid., p. 5)
Three out of 10 Black males enrolled in a four-year institution, compared with four out of 10 White males. (Ibid.)
Approximately 15 percent of Black males graduated in four years and about one-third graduated in five years compared with 33 percent of White males graduating in four years and one-half graduating in five years. (Ibid., p. 6)
Executive Director Casserly anticipated the reaction to this report. As he stated: “This report is likely to make people angry, and it should. We hope that this is a louder and more jolting wake-up call to the nation than this country is used to hearing. The fact that the previous calls have fallen on so many deaf ears is not encouraging, but we are convinced that we must ring the alarms one more time and play a larger role in setting this situation right.” He finished by saying this: “With so many of our citizens lacking access to the fruits of the richest nation on earth, our aspirations as a truly just nation are called into question.” (Ibid.)
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