Issues Surrounding the Graduation Rate for African American Males
The American educational system is generally regarded as one of the better education systems in the world. Currently, there is much national discussion about the state of the American educational system and how it can be improved. While these discussions include students from head start to doctoral programs, there is a smaller group of students whose circumstances are exceptionally dire and go largely un-discussed. African American males have one of the highest dropout rates in the United States. This is so because African American males face significantly more obstacles in receiving a high school diploma. The main factors that contribute to African American high school males dropping out are: poverty, bad school, and family breakdown (Crouse, 2010). Conversely, there are factors that contribute to African American males graduating from high school such as culturally sensitive curricula and positive Black male role models. Understanding the scope of the contributing factors surrounding the high school graduation rate of African American males paints a picture of what it means to be Black and male in the American education system. Poverty is a contributing factor to the low high school graduation rate of African American males. "Positioning Young Black" states that 36 percent of Black children live in poverty and:
In many areas, Black Americans are segregated in minority communities where children are more likely to go to school with other children of color. The impact of racial, social and class stratification over a lifetime can have devastating effects for Black boys. Racial segregation and the ideologies that support it help to spawn the high levels of violent, poor mental and physical health, substance abuse, unemployment and underemployment. Segregation can affect middle class Black boys, as well.”
An additional factor to consider when examining poverty is the amount of single parent households. In 2010, Crouse stated that:
When it comes to poverty, a contributing factor for dropping out of school, the majority are single parents -- 37 percent of single moms and 17.5 percent of single dads are in poverty, whereas only 6.7 percent of married couples are in poverty. Put in the simplest possible terms, the poverty rate of single mothers with children is five times higher than the rate for married couples with children, and the rate for single fathers is more than two-and-a-half times the married-couple rate.
Also, “more than 75 percent of Black children born between 1985 and 2000 grew up in ‘high disadvantage’ neighborhoods” (“Positioning Young Black”). Research supports the understanding that living in a single parent household places a student at a much higher likelihood to be impoverished. While being poor itself is not an indicator of one’s capabilities, it does dictate the access to quality education that a student has. Many of the times the poorest communities have the worst schools. Bad schools are also a major contributing factor to the low high school graduation rate of African American males. Tales states in an 2010 articles that:
Most black parents are already aware of how deplorable many of the public schools serving low income communities are. Educators and administrators know it too. Politicians are just as informed. Yet, the failure of the schools has continued over decades. And the extraordinarily high numbers of ill-prepared incoming children continues to remain an open secret.
Bad schools are part of the foundation to a poor education that is failing African American males. Many Black males from poor communities go to poor schools, receive inadequate classroom attention, have minimal access to adequate facilities, and ultimately lose interest in any sort of academic achievement. Elementary education is supposed to lay a strong foundation for students to build upon, but without a strong elementary school to provide that foundation students have no skills to build upon. As a result of this, the farther a student progress without the fundamentals, the more difficult schoolwork becomes. Complex concepts cannot be understood without previous understanding of basic concepts. Bad schools are just one factor in the multifaceted dilemma that plagues African American males from graduation high school. Family breakdown is also a major factor in the low graduation rate for African American males. Crouse spells out the issues with family breakdown with the following statistic:
White and Asian parents are more likely than black or Hispanic parents to read to their children (white, 68 percent; Asian, 66 percent; black, 50 percent; and Hispanic, 45 percent). Again, it comes as no surprise that children are read to more often in two-parent families than in single-parent homes (62 percent in two-parent homes compared to 53 percent in single-parent homes)
Naturally, if there is someone else to share parenting responsibilities, then there are more opportunities to a child to be read to. Many times, a mother will work many hours and children are left to do their schoolwork alone. Their educational needs go unmet because their parent, usually mother, is working to make sure that their basic needs are met. That puts a parent in a difficulty position where they cannot choose to invest time into their child’s schooling because work takes precedence.
Crouse goes on to say:
At some point, we will have to come to grips with the fact that a very large percentage of our students fail because they lack a father and mother who value, encourage, support, and reinforced their efforts to learn. Common sense tells us that there is no surer recipe for the child to lag behind in learning than having to contend with the strain and disruption of a broken, dysfunctional family, where the parent or parents are so focused on themselves and their needs that they have little emotional energy to spare for the child's needs.
A comprehensive approach to remedying the educational disparities between African American males and other high achieving students would be to address the circumstances that keep their parents from devoting the appropriate amount of time into their schooling.
Poverty, bad schools, and family breakdown are all causes for a lower graduation rate and are evidence that more public policies and reforms need to put in place to address the roots of the issues that keep African American males from achieving their full academic potential.
The struggles that African American males face is not the premier challenge for American educators. Though the legitimacy of a chronically low graduation rate among African American males has been validated in the educational community, few reform changes have been put in place. "I think that for a long time we've been dragging [our feet] on the crisis of dropout rates of African-American and Latino males,” said Philadelphia School Reform Commissioner Johnny Irizarry. Irizarry’s message about the lack of attention that Black (and Latino) receives supports the reality that the achievement of Black males has been suffering and going unattended to for many years.
“While the nation has addressed the paucity of Black males graduating in comparison to others, more work needs to be done in communities” (Bell). In another 2012 article, Wheathersbee states, “Since a high school diploma is a gateway to college and to decent paying jobs, communities cannot allow this gap in black male graduation rates to continue.” Communities are now being charged with the responsibility to help keep African American men in school.
Although the educational plight of African American male is not the chief concern for many educators, there are some places in the United States that have very high graduation rates for African American males and suggest that there are some positive contributing factors that help and increase the graduation rate of African American males. The factors that contribute to African American high school students graduating from high school are: fewer African American students in a class, culturally geared learning, and positive role models. Frederick Lowe says, “States with fewer black students don't operate segregated schools with teachers who are not as well educated and do not have much teaching experience.” Lowe argues that African American males will be able to receive an unbiased education at schools with fewer Blacks. He goes on to say:
In school systems that operate segregated schools, there are high out-of-school suspension rates for black boys. In predominately white schools, you have more experienced teachers, more resources and well-equipped scientific labs such as chemistry labs.
It is interesting that Lowe argues that being a minority in a school works in one’s favor because they are not subjected to the bias, pity, and engrained racist behaviors that many non-African Americans express. Another factor that improves the high school graduation rate is “[i]ntegrating effective multicultural lessons and urban culture into the curriculum” (Tales, 2010). The importance of integrating the urban culture into teaching is monumental. Students are more likely to focus on and feel a part of their learning experience when it is engaging with familiar elements of their own life. When educational lessons are culturally reflective of the students the education they receive becomes more personalized. Personalized education would greatly benefit African American males because it would directly address their educational needs. “Teachers must understand the distinct learning styles of Black males that advance student performance such as cooperative learning. Research postulated that Black males tend to be more successful in cooperative groups” (Bell). If more teachers understood that not all students learn the same way, then more educational plans could be tailed to the unique learned style of African American males. New learning material is daunting enough and becomes more intimidating and seemingly less doable when cultural unfamiliarity is brought into the equation. Students would be more receptive and open to learning that was geared towards their needs and learning style. Another method that would address the personal needs of African American students is having a role model, mentor, or positive example to look up to. In 2011, Noble states:
Seeing other eventually succeed provide incentive for individuals to undertake difficult tasks. Moreover, showing that success is possible through perseverance helps to sustain effort in the face of setback. Without the benefit of observed accomplishments, initial personal failures—which inevitably occur in difficulty endeavors—more readily create discouragement and resignation” (p. 302). Thus, there needs to be an aggressive effort to immediately provide more models of success t African American male youth so that they will have accessible mechanisms to help counter the many perceptions that exist with regard to their academic achievement capabilities.
Positive models of success are key in developing young men with the power to know that they are just as worthy and capable of a quality education as any other student. The African American male community definitely needs more resources, research, and attention if the graduation rate of Black boys is ever going to increase. More academic and reform discussion will need to take place as well as a change in the way the African American community supports its Black youth. The African American community must start taking responsibility for the educational state of its youth and fighting for improved facilities, knowledgeable administrators, and effective, culturally sensitive, unbiased teachers. African American communities must also urge those that are successful to reach out and mentor those who are still in high school and provide guidance and understanding. Fixing the state of education for African American males is not easy and is not one person’s or one group’s job. It is a collective effort that will need much hard work from everyone involved. Education is not a solitary achievement—education is a community accomplishment.

References https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:FoxIInC4kKEJ:www.dredbell.com/images/blackmalesstudy.pdf+why+black+males+drop+out+of+high+school&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjly4l5Nh4jYda6EWe6zKcE5VWRnrZiDBTMfYKHb8GV74hXTOBeUP21tbP_5k3MoyWV7xYc85Vw7mzpcOSg4p1CM2cv02mYRYMN9oYiliFWTjH_cmuqF9yeh0q4MgdmBtwmlTAg&sig=AHIEtbQkxfHXJ28FGC8KkuldImQ9oXjL4A Crouse, J. (2010, August 23). Why young black males are not graduating high school. The American Spectator. Retrieved from http://spectator.org/archives/2010/08/23/why-young-black-males-are-not
Lowe, F. H. Highest graduation rates for black boys occur in unlikely states. The North Star News & Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.thenorthstarnews.com/Story/highest-graduation-rates-for-black-boys-occur-in-unlikely-states
Noble, R. (2011). Mathematics self-efficacy and African American students: an examination of models of success. Journal of African American Males in Education, 2(2), 188-213. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:s6vufFesl50J:journalofafricanamericanmales.com/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=40 what keeps black males in high school&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiRwUg-0NzcrhZNW4PwukSy8zaFHlCY9iCHmAEGi23zzXhKkkx0BemRYr2BlDNQ9M0bLxj3vm8T_xtxciGaCau4mMYt4FdLZGh4EMYYNJCoApaIbgN_hA5ChzDBNEHrX5vxYdxp&sig=AHIEtbSCVxvvHEwmZ93xNOVTFblySA75JQ (2011). Positioning young black boys for educational success. ETS Policy Information Center, 19(3), 1-16. Retrieved from http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PIC-PNV19n3.pdf
Tales, D. (2010, September 02). Working to keep black, latino males in school. Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved from http://articles.philly.com/2010-09-02/news/24972802_1_dropout-rate-graduation-rate-latino-youths
Weathersbee, T. (2012, October 18). Black dropout rate remains too high. The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved from http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403605/tonyaa-weathersbee/2012-10-18/tonyaa-weathersbee-black-dropout-rate-remains-too