African American students represent 16% of the secondary education population but make up 32-42% of suspensions and expulsions, while white students represent 51% of the population but only 31-40% of suspensions and expulsions. Additionally, while the national graduation rate is 80%, only 69% of African American students graduate on time compared to 86% of white students. Standardized test scores also show about a 30 point gap between African American and white students. The data does not provide explanations for these disparities but the reflection suggests possible reasons such as lack of support for minorities or systemic racism in the school system.

1. African-American Students in
Secondary Education
Matthew Braddock
Cultural Diversity

2. Population
In 2011-2012,
African-American students
represented 16% of the
secondary education
population.
(Office for Civil Rights)

3. Discipline
However, they
represented 32-42% of
the students
suspended or expelled.
While White students
represent 31-40% of
the students
suspended or expelled,
they represent 51% of
the student population.
(Office for Civil Rights)

4. Graduation
In 2011-2012, 80% of United States
students graduated secondary school
in 4 years.
While 86% of White students
completed secondary school on-time,
only 69% of African-American
students graduated on-time.
(National Center for Education
Statistics)

5. Dropouts
While the dropout rate for
African-Americans has
dropped from 12.6% to 7.3%
in the past twenty years, it is
still higher than White
students (5.0%).
(National Center for
Education Statistics)

6. College Readiness
The ACT exam measures college
readiness by testing four
benchmarks: English, Reading,
Mathematics, and Science.
In 2013, only 5% of
African-American students met all
4 benchmarks.
(ACT Inc.)

7. Test Scores
For the NAEP assessment in 2013,
White students averaged 162 in
mathematics and 297 in reading.
In contrast, African-American
students averaged 132 in
mathematics and 268 in reading, both
approximately 30 points lower.
(National Center for Education
Statistics)

8. Reflection
The data does not give
explanations or reasoning for
the results. Some possible
conclusions are lack of
support for minorities,
improper instructing methods,
or systemic racism in the
schooling system.
As an instructor as a high
school where
African-American students
represent 91% of the
population, I witness these
deficiencies on a daily basis.
Change must done on a
national scale.

9. References
[References can be viewed at bit.ly/cultural_diversity]
●ACT Inc. The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2013: National.
http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/cccr13/pdf/CCCR13-NationalRead
inessRpt.pdf
●National Center for Education Statistics. 2013 Mathematics and Reading:
Grade 12 Assessments.
http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_g12_2013/#/
●National Center for Education Statistics. Public High School Four-Year
On-Time Graduation Rates and Event Dropout Rates.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014391.pdf
●Office for Civil Rights. Civil Rights Data Collection; Data Snapshot: School
Discipline.
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-discipline-snapshot.pdf