Report Finds Race-Based Gap in College Grad Rates
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For decades now, colleges have focused their attention on increasing minority enrollment. But what happens once those students arrive on campus? A report this week from Education Sector, an independent think tank, finds that many colleges and universities are graduating their black students at rates that are significantly lower than those of their white students. The report also shows that some colleges that have worked to close the gap have been able to boost their graduation rate for black students—in some cases, high enough to surpass that of white students.
Some of the largest gaps between black and white graduation rates were found at smaller private institutions. Catholic University in the District of Columbia, St. Thomas University in Florida, and the College of Mount St. Joseph in Ohio, for example, each had differences of more than 40 percentage points between black and white students. But large public universities struggle, too. The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Indiana University-Bloomington, and the University of Colorado-Boulder have gaps of about 20 percent in the graduation rates of their black students and their white students.
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Fewer than half of the black students who enroll in college graduate from four-year institutions within six years, according to the report, called “Graduation Rate Watch: Making Minority Student Success a Priority.” Nationally, the average six-year graduation rate for all students is 57 percent. In 2000, of the roughly 120,000 black students attending four-year institutions as full-time freshmen, half were enrolled in an institution that graduated under 40 percent of its black students and 1 in 10 attended an institution with a black graduation rate below 20 percent.
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Some schools have managed to buck the trend. For example, at Florida State University, the graduation rate is slightly higher for black students than white students. These unusual statistics are at least partly attributable to its comprehensive support program for first-generation students, the Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement. About two thirds of CARE students are black.
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The CARE program begins outreach in middle school and high school. Program staffers help disadvantaged students wade through the admissions process maze, and they meet with parents to provide information and guidance about how to help their children get into college. FSU relaxes admissions standards for the low-income, first-generation students who qualify for CARE. CARE also operates a tutorial lab that its students are required to attend at least eight hours per week—more if their grades slip—and even offers extra sections of freshman math courses.
“Everyone’s involved,” says Larry Abele, provost of FSU. “Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Outreach—everybody just pays attention. We have very immediate and aggressive follow-up for any student who has difficulties.
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That doesn’t mean that schools without a gap necessarily have good programs in place. The report notes that some schools achieve racial parity chiefly through highly selective admissions. At 98 percent, Harvard’s six-year graduation rate is the highest in the country. “Harvard only admits students who are most likely to succeed,” it says. “Unsurprising, nearly all of them do.”
(Posted on April 23, 2008)
Comments
“The report also shows that some colleges that have worked to close the gap have been able to boost their graduation rate for black students—in some cases, high enough to surpass that of white students.”
These agenda-driven geeks ignore the fact that all the races do better than blacks, not just whites. There’s an achievement gap between blacks and Hispanics; blacks and Asians; blacks and American Indians; and blacks and everybody else not included in those groups. Yet all we EVER hear about is the gap between whites and blacks.
Could it be because these pitiful out-of-touch neanderthals know that if they highlight these comparisons it could well wreck their entire premise about blacks and whites being equal except for skin color?
I mean, if they point out that poor Hispanics, Fillipinos, Vietnamese, Pakistanis, Indians, etc., all outperform blacks, wouldn’t that destroy their claims that blacks fail only because of environment and background, since all the other races overcome those things and succeed at least to some extent, but blacks do not?
Condoleeza Rice wants us to believe blacks are behind because they got a late start due to slavery, racism, oppression, etc., ad nauseum. But what does getting a late start have to do with being unable to understand problems, various concepts, subjects and mathematics of a simplistic nature? What does it have to do with blacks having a propensity for crime and violence, exhibited not in just the US, but the world over, including Africa? What does it have to do with I.Q.?
Besides the airhead factor involved in the black underachievement problem by these self-appointed elitists, do they sense that they must constantly play “Let’s Pretend” in order to keep the black population from rioting and creating a civil war?
It appears as if there are two main elements that desire to concentrate on the “black/white” gap: Those who are propagandized dolts and those who are cowards, terrified of the prospect of civil upheaval, with a certain number of them qualifying for either group.
But whatever the reasons behind these constant disingenuous comparisons, these despicable people are responsible for dumbing down our educational system severely and creating a thought controlled police state, and they are without doubt the greatest enemies we have.
Posted by Robert Kelly at 5:37 PM on April 23
It’s sad when universities send the message that black students are more important than white students.
Posted by at 6:47 PM on April 23
“Some schools have managed to buck the trend. For example, at Florida State University, the graduation rate is slightly higher for black students than white students.”,/i>
“Everyone’s involved,” says Larry Abele, provost of FSU. “Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Outreach—everybody just pays attention. We have very immediate and aggressive follow-up for any student who has difficulties.
Further examples showing that for blacks to perform equally with whites, extraordinary efforts must be utilized. Equal involves extra. While I can believe that individual blacks can academically surpass individual whites, this group exception makes me skeptical.
Posted by sbuffalonative at 7:04 PM on April 23
Meanwhile Asians right off the boat do better than “deprived” Blacks. This article is odd in that it doesn’t seem to blame Whites for African-American failure?
Posted by at 7:10 PM on April 23
It takes an extraordinary amount of hand-holding and stage management to make it appear that Blacks are equal to Whites. Imagine what could be accomplished if that effort were put into something besides racial window dressing.
Posted by Schoolteacher at 7:12 PM on April 23
I’m sure if you let in unqualified Whites then those Whites would graduate at a much lower rate than other Whites. The logical and fair way to close the gap would be to quit letting in unqualfied Whites and let in Whites who are qualified instead. But melanin privilege prevents us from applying that solution here - quit letting in unqualified Blacks and let in qualified Whites instead. We’re conditioned to feel, but not to think, but think about it - if you have enough melanin, then logic and fairness does not apply to you.
Posted by Doppelgangbanger at 7:38 PM on April 23
Nationally, the average six-year graduation rate for all students is 57 percent.
Regardless of any racial differences in statistics, this is a staggering number. If you consider that the main purpose of attending a college is to get a degree, look at the massive amount of wasted time and money that this represents.
Posted by Reader-1 at 8:08 PM on April 23
Where would I be in this modern age without these experts? I feel reassured by their keen grasp of the obvious. In other news:
“Report finds sun stubbornly continues to rise in east, set in west”
“Research suggests sky is blue, but only during daytime”
“Vatican: Pope Catholic; bear defecates in forest”
Posted by Oops, the brainwashing wore off... at 8:31 PM on April 23
At 98 percent, Harvard’s six-year graduation rate is the highest in the country. “Harvard only admits students who are most likely to succeed,” it says. “Unsurprising, nearly all of them do.”
Ha! Typical Ivy smugness. When was the last time Harvard failed anyone for anything? I remember reading just a year or so back that over 90 percent of Harvard students earn academic honors of one kind or another. When virtually everyone is an “A” student, what does success even mean anymore? At least the state schools have some self-respect when it comes to their grading practices.
Posted by Dave at 9:17 PM on April 23
There is also a missle gap between blacks and whites.
Us whites build and fire off the ones that go into space.
Blacks fire off the missles that come out of the barrel of a gun. But they don’t build them. Just fire them…
They still relie on whitey for that.
Posted by Delano Man at 9:33 PM on April 23
It would be interesting to note how many of these black students who fail to graduate within 6 years have been tempted away by lucrative affirmative-action job offers within the private sector or with government on some level.
Posted by LHathaway at 10:12 PM on April 23
I can tell you that at big universtities who have all those diverse students ( I use that term loosly) have very high crime rates….I know a few white students who have dropped out in semesters because they hate the way the universities not only cater to these so called minorities or teach more or less….the marxists way….I personally feel that smaller colleges with less “minorities” are better than say…harvard or michigan state…ohio state…even penn state…..oh well the truth is the truth…
Posted by lydia at 10:12 PM on April 23
There is only one explanation…colleges are lousy with racism. Yes, those bastions of Leftist utopianism, where Orwellian speech codes rule, and the most radical strain of political correctness extant is religion; are in fact seething cauldrons of bigotry and hate. What else could it be???
Posted by HH at 10:45 PM on April 23
CARE also operates a tutorial lab that its students are required to attend at least eight hours per week—more if their grades slip—and even offers extra sections of freshman math courses
If I’d had all that help I would have become a space scientist.
Posted by T at 11:03 PM on April 23
It’s tough to finish college when your high school grades and SAT scores aren’t good enough to get into a good college but you’re allowed in anyway because of your race. These schools that allow substandard black students to matriculate aren’t doing these young people any favors. They’re setting them up for failure.
Posted by AvgDude at 12:23 AM on April 24
“Nationally, the average six-year graduation rate for all students is 57 percent.
Regardless of any racial differences in statistics, this is a staggering number. If you consider that the main purpose of attending a college is to get a degree, look at the massive amount of wasted time and money that this represents.
Posted by Reader-1 at 8:08 PM on April 23”
They don’t care as long as the Federal student aid money keeps rolling in. As a matter of fact, they probably prefer to have people of all races beat their heads against their hallowed walls and fail. That only makes room for more students, who will of course need financial aid…ad nauseam
Posted by Wild Eyed Charlie at 1:24 AM on April 24
Wild Eyed Charlie: You are absolutely right. I have a relative who has failed to complete his doctorate. He owns no books and reads no literature, only websites. His prose is cliched and filled will big words that are not quite correctly used. He had no business in a PhD program, he should be selling cars, but, the university took the tuition and let him take the classes, knowing that he was not fit to be there. I don’t begrudge them wasting his time, I begrudge them taking his mother’s and the taxpayers’ money. Most “higher education” is a waste and a scam. BTW, the relative is an Obamaniac. He thinks that BHO will save the country, or at least give government jobs to all failed PhD candidates. Most of our family laughs at his predicament.
Posted by Schoolteacher at 2:34 AM on April 24
The utter stupidity of this report, and the failure by educators and politicans to face reality is very depressing, it seems as though all hope is gone.
Posted by abc at 5:52 AM on April 24
First you gotta give them AA to get into college, then AA to make sure they graduate, AA to get them a job, AA to get them promoted and finally, AA to make sure they don’t get fired.
Posted by Godzilla Pimp at 8:11 AM on April 24
I think that the colleges are going about this from the wrong direction. Blacks and their defenders claim that the colleges are doing something wrong. Here’s what they should do: give an IQ test to all students matriculated. For each graduating class, give their IQ curve. Totally non-racial metric.
There’s no way in hell I could even get through the front door of the University of Chicago, because I ain’t got the smarts. Blacks should realize that some institutions just aren’t ment for them because of the same reason.
Posted by at 8:27 AM on April 24
“…many colleges and universities are graduating their black students at rates that are significantly lower than those of their white students.”
This has never been not true. One really tires of the self-imposed meandering stupidity regularly demonstrated by American academia on the subject of disparities in racial performance.
Disparities exist because disparities exist! How much plainer can the obvious be made to America’s leftist education cultists?
Posted by Gary at 12:19 PM on April 24
““Everyone’s involved,” says Larry Abele, provost of FSU. “Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Outreach—everybody just pays attention. We have very immediate and aggressive follow-up for any student who has difficulties.”
I wonder if that applies to white students. I’m guessing not, if parity is the goal.
Posted by Boudreaux at 1:55 PM on April 24
Liberals will find a way to blame it on White racism, instead of lower ability and lack of work habits. Liberals will “solve” the problem by forcing institutions to graduate all “equally”, regardless of achievement.
Posted by at 2:03 PM on April 24
If I were to design an intervention-outreach program for failing black college students, the only thing “immediate and aggressive” would be their instant dismissal. Enough coddling of intellectual basket cases. If “too few” enrolled blacks is the consequence, then so be it.
I have a Ph.D. in planning and public policy. Not once did I rely on university hand-holders to prop me up to stave off failure.
Posted by seek at 2:23 PM on April 24
The solution is simple. Give a college degree. Never allow a man to earn one.
Posted by at 6:27 PM on April 24
And still the main point is missed here. When these people do get that faux diploma it’s virtually equal to an eigth grade graduation document
Posted by teddy at 11:00 PM on April 24
“Nationally, the average six-year graduation rate for all students is 57 percent.”
Regardless of any racial differences in statistics, this is a staggering number. If you consider that the main purpose of attending a college is to get a degree, look at the massive amount of wasted time and money that this represents.
Posted by Reader-1 at 8:08 PM on April 23
I went to college and grad school for a master’s degree. As part of my grad program, I taught two years of foreign language to undergrads. My observation is this: four out of five white college students have no idea why they are in college other than the idea that a four year degree is required to to get ‘a good job.’ Nine out of ten black college students are there only to enjoy the freebies that are being heaped upon them. In terms of return on investment, the money spent on black American college students could just as well be used as kindling for the homecoming bonfire.
Posted by Civilized Neighbor at 1:53 PM on April 25