Ohio | The Schott 50 State Report

Inequities in Graduation Rates

Black and White male students in Ohio graduated at slightly higher rates in 2005/6 than the national average. The racial achievement gap is greater than the national average.

The Benchmark for graduation rates of Black male students for states enrolling more than 10,000 Black male students is 74% (New Jersey).

Male Students		Graduation Rate 2005/6 (est.)			Graduation Rate 2004/5
	Black Males	Black	White	Gap	Black	White	Black Change	White Change
USA	4.3mil.	47%	75%	28%	47%	74%	0%	1%
Ohio	155,098	49%	79%	30%	46%	74%	4%	5%

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Evidence of Inequities

NAEP Grade 4 Reading results for Ohio are average for those for the nation as a whole for both White, non-Hispanic and Black male students. Over half of the state’s Black male students read below the Basic level at Grade 4.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Reading, Grade 4, 2007

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	26	36	29	9
	Ohio	23	39	30	8
Black	USA	59	30	10	1
	Ohio	57	30	12	1

At Grade 8 the situation has improved slightly, although nearly half of the state’s Black male students read at less than the Basic level and virtually none reach the Advanced level.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Reading, Grade 8, 2007

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	22	46	30	2
	Ohio	17	45	34	3
Black	USA	53	39	8	#
	Ohio	49	42	8	#

Nearly one-third of Ohio’s Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 4 Mathematics, five times as many as the state’s White, non-Hispanic male students.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Mathematics, Grade 4, 2007

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	9	38	44	9
	Ohio	6	38	46	10
Black	USA	38	47	14	1
	Ohio	31	47	20	1

By Grade 8, more than half of Ohio’s Black male students score below the Basic level in Grade 8 Mathematics and virtually none reach the Advanced level.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Mathematics, Grade 8, 2007

Race	Jurisdictions	Below Basic	At Basic	At Proficient	At Advanced
White	USA	18	39	33	10
	Ohio	16	39	35	9
Black	USA	54	35	10	1
	Ohio	52	38	9	#

The Benchmark for Black male students in Grade 8 Reading is Massachusetts, with 62% of Black male students scoring at or above Basic.

The Benchmark for Grade 8 Mathematics is Texas, with 63% of Black male students scoring at or above Basic.

Discipline, Special Education, and Advanced Placement Inequities

The number of out-of-school suspensions given to Black male students in Ohio was equivalent to twenty percent of Ohio’s Black, non-Hispanic male student population. The number of out-of-school suspensions given to White male students in Ohio was equivalent to six percent of the state’s White, non-Hispanic male enrollment in the 2004/5 school year, as reported to the Office of Civil Rights of the U. S. Department of Education. More than three times as many Black male students were expelled as were White male students, although there were more than four times as many White as Black students in the state.

Black male students were admitted to district Gifted/Talented programs at a rate unusually close to the rate of White male students, while nearly twice as many, proportionately, were classified as Mentally Retarded.

Given their respective shares in the student population, more than twice as many White male students were allowed to take Advanced Placement Mathematics classes as Black male students and fifty percent more as many were allowed to take Advanced Placement Science classes as Black male students.