Tracking the Educational Progress of 21st-Century African American Students

A new report from the U.S. Department of Education tracks the educational progress of students who were sophomores in high school in the year 2002 through the year 2012. The data shows that 19.8 percent of the African American high school sophomores in 2002 had gone on to earn at least a bachelor’s degree over the next decade. This is less than half the rate for Whites. Nearly 40 percent of White high school sophomores in 2002 had earned a bachelor’s degree by 2012.

The results showed that another 7.5 percent of Black sophomores in 2002 had earned an associate’s degree, but no higher degree, as had 9.1 percent of White high school sophomores in 2002.

Nearly 5 percent of Black high school sophomores in 2002 never completed high school compared to 1.8 percent of Whites.