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Detroit Public Schools Grad Rates Low for Black Males: Michigan Ranks Lowest in Nation
We all have to come to grips with these kinds of statistics--stop looking the other way.
by Jennifer Mrozowski /
Michigan has the worst graduation rate in the nation for black males, while Detroit Public Schools has one of the worst rates among all districts, according to a national report issued Friday.
The study shows Michigan graduates just 33 percent of black males compared with 74 percent of white males, according to the report "Given Half a Chance: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males."
Detroit Public Schools graduates 20 percent of black males. The district has a lower rate of graduating white males -- 17 percent -- exemplifying that the low rates are more a matter of inequality in resources than a matter of race, said John H. Jackson, president and CEO of the Cambridge, Mass.-based Schott Foundation for Public Education.
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"Where there are groups of segregated black males in schools where they are less likely to have access to highly effective teachers, less likely to have access to early childhood education and a college-bound curriculum, the rates are very poor," he said.
To improve graduation rates, officials should ensure those students have equal access to necessary resources to achieve high outcomes, he said.
"These black males can perform," Jackson said.
When placed in schools where they have the proper resources, they can meet the benchmarks, he said. When white students are placed in schools that also lack resources, their level of performance is similarly low.
North Dakota had the highest rate of black males graduating at 89 percent, a higher rate than the 84 percent of white males graduating.
"The low numbers of black, Latino and Native-American males who graduate from high school is a major concern," said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. "It's obvious that the way we've been trying to educate these students is not working, and we have to look at other ways to reach them. Governor Granholm's small high school initiative is an important strategy to build greater relevance and relationships with schools and students. We have confidence this, combined with a more challenging curriculum required by our new graduation requirements, will help make a difference."
The foundation's study used 2005-06 data from the U. S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and Office for Civil Rights, which was the most recent available, as well as data from state departments of education and local school districts. Similar studies have been criticized because they use outdated data and don't account for students who move out of districts and graduate elsewhere or leave the state.
Detroit Public Schools officials were not surprised by the data.
"It's no secret," Detroit Public Schools spokesman Steve Wasko said. "In fact, with (Superintendent Connie) Calloway's lead, DPS has published public reports on our Web site that the success rates for students, particularly at the high school level, have been largely unacceptable.
"That is precisely why we are moving forward quickly with our high school redesign planning which involves parents, staff, the community and now the board-approved intermediary."
The plan, announced in March, is to transform Cody High School, Cody Ninth Grade Academy, Henry Ford High School, Osborn High School and Vetal K-8 School by creating smaller school settings at each campus.
"This will ensure much greater focus on providing rigor, relevance and relationships for our young African-American males and all of our students," Wasko said.
Elonda Clemons, a special education teacher at the Detroit Public Schools' Western International High School, said she sees students who come to high school unable to read, causing them to get frustrated and drop out.
"It takes too much ... to undo what should've happened already," Clemons said, adding students' attendance falls drastically the farther behind they fall. "They're embarrassed."
The district needs more programs that allow students to catch up by working at their own pace, she said. Class size, which can creep up to 30 students, would better serve students if each class was limited to 15 students to give them more one-on-one attention, she said.
The disparities have resulted from vestiges of previous racial discrimination, and will require states to institutionalize equity of resources, Jackson said.
— Jennifer Mrozowski
Detroit News
2008-07-26
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
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