Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Report calls attention to achievement gap between black and white male students

Report calls attention to achievement gap between black and white male students

Report calls attention to achievement gap between black and white male students

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 9, 2010; 10:57 AM

Black male students trail their white counterparts in school by alarming margins and for reasons that often are not well understood, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report from the Council of the Great City Schools, an advocacy organization for urban education, suggests that poverty is not the only factor behind the black-white achievement gap.

Federal test data show that white male students nationwide who come from families poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches outperform black males from large cities whose families are better off economically, according to the report.

The report analyzed fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math results from the 2009