The goal of the Common Core State Standards is to prepare every student for college and careers. It does this by offering a challenging set of benchmarks that act as steps students take toward graduation goals. However, an internationally competitive set of educational benchmarks alone cannot cut dropout rates among high school students – it takes more efforts on the parts of districts, schools, teachers and students. What's more, targeting minorities with support seems to be even more important, as a report by the Schott Foundation for Public Education had discovered that the graduation gap between white male students and minority male students has increased.
The stats on black males
The report revealed that one in seven black boys is proficient in reading by fourth grade, a time when most non-minority students have a handle on the subject. Additionally, only 1 in 10 black male students is proficient in science by eighth grade. With students falling behind throughout their education, you may predict that many black males also drop out of high school before they graduate, and you'd be correct.
The report broke down graduation rates by state. Maine (90 percent), Idaho (80 percent) and Arizona (77 percent) ranked the top three (respectively) for graduation rates. In these states, the gap between minority and majority students is either small or nonexistent. On the other side of the spectrum, Nevada (40 percent), District of Columbia (48 percent) and Nebraska (50 percent) showed the lowest graduation rates. It's also important to know that although the gap is wide in these states, it's wider in some of the middle-ranking states.
The national average graduation rate for black males was 59 percent.
The state of graduation for Latino males
Black young men aren't the only minority group with wide gaps for graduation rates: Latino males also have lower rates than white male peers. Alaska (82 percent), Maine (81 percent) and West Virginia (79 percent) respectively showed the highest graduation rates for Latinos, while Nevada (44 percent), Connecticut (52 percent) and Utah (55 percent) showed the lowest.
Overall, the national average graduation rate for Latino males was 65 percent.
Helping students achieve
The report also included action items for states to help improve graduation rates that begin with assessing individual student needs. Additionally, states must target issues that keep students out of school, including suspension. Schools should not only offer aid for academics (i.e., tutoring) but also for emotional and social needs.
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