Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Grievance Mongers Strike Again

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by

James A. Bacon
in

Minorities are falling behind — we need more money for schools. That’s the predictable thrust of the Associated Press story based on a study by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center.

About three-quarters of Virginia’s public high school students graduate in four years, but there are large disparities between black and white students’ rates, according to a report released Tuesday by an education research group.

There were large gaps between white and black Virginians, with 77.8 percent of whites graduating, compared to 64.1 percent of black students. Black male students had the lowest graduation rate at 57.6 percent….

“The bigger story behind the numbers is that there are huge inequalities in terms of underfunding of local school systems across Virginia,” said Andy Block, legal director of advocacy group JustChildren.

When it comes to race relations, you can always count on the Mainstream Media to emphasize the negative, to reinforce the stereotype of African-Americans as victims, and to uncritically shill for any advocacy group crying for more money for schools.

Here are some perspectives that the research group and the AP writer chose not to take:

  • Graduation rates in Virginia are higher for both whites (77.8 percent in Virginia vs. 76.2 percent nationally) and for blacks (64.1 percent in Virginia vs. 51.6 percent nationally). Elementary arithmetic reveals the astounding conclusion that the graduation rate for whites exceeds the national average by only 1.6 percentage points, while the graduation rate for blacks exceeds the national average by 12.5 percentage points — surely an indication that Virginia is doing something better than the rest of the nation when it comes to educating blacks!
  • If the graduation rate for black males is 57.6 percent, and the average for all blacks is 64.1 percent, that implies that the graduation rate for black females is about 70 percent, very close to the state average for whites — a fact that the AP story neglects to mention.
  • If there is a 12-13 percentage point discrepency in the graduation rate between black males and females, are we to assume that black males are uniquely disadvantaged? Or is there a factor within black culture — not necessarily school funding — that explains the difference?
  • For that matter, is there a discrepency between white male and female graduation rates? There almost assuredly is. Does that mean white males are disadvantaged somehow? Is it possible that all males, whether white or black, are disadvantaged by the pedagogy of contemporary schools systems?

Finally, when we’re looking for solutions to drop-outs, I would suggest that the problem is not necessarily mo’ money. I would refer readers to a soon-to-be-published column in Bacon’s Rebellion, “Want Students to Go to School? How About Enforcing Truancy Laws?” by John Butcher. (This was scheduled for publication in the current edition of Bacon’s Rebellion but was omitted through an oversight. I’ll publish it in the next edition.)

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4 responses to “Grievance Mongers Strike Again”

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Many of your questions are answered in the report itself
    Whites 77.8
    Blacks 64.1
    Virginia Males 70.7
    Virginia Females 78.8
    Black Males 57.6
    Black Females 69.2
    White Males 74.3
    White Females 80.8

    So the state average for Black Females is not close to the state average for White Females.

    Also, your “elementary math” got a little confused between percentages and percentage points.
    (For example, Going from 8% to 4% is not a drop of 4% because the percentage has been cut in half, a drop of 50 percent. It is a drop of four percentage points)

  2. Jim Bacon Avatar
    Jim Bacon

    Annonymous 4:31, thank you for pointing out my gaffe in saying “percent” instead of “percentage points.” I have corrected the original post.

    And thank you for including the detailed breakdown of the drop-out numbers.

    Clearly, there is a significant cultural element affecting the drop-out rates, as demonstrated by the 6.5 percentage point differential between white males and females, and the 11.6 percentage point differential between black males and females. It does not seem to be a discrepency that many people are keen to explore. If it were the other way around, if females were dropping out at a higher rate than males, I am confident that it would be a national scandal.

    On to the issue of race… As you rightly point out, black females do drop out at a higher rate than white females. I wonder, however, if “race” is the explanatory factor, or if the differential can be explained by socio-economic status. I really question the idea that the level of school spending is a major determinant.

  3. Conaway B. Haskins III Avatar
    Conaway B. Haskins III

    Jim,

    I think that it’s a combination of internal cultural factors among blacks, declining black family structures (also a cultural element), geographic concentration of poverty in certain regions, the effects of that socioeconomic distress, and poor-quality instruction. It would be interesting if the data could be sorted out by race, geography, and socioeconomics. For example, in some instances black students in certain poor localities sometimes outperform blacks in better areas.

    Bottom line is that you’re right to be asking the questions. Now, let’s try and find some possible explanations.

  4. Jim Patrick Avatar
    Jim Patrick

    Overall the news is good; Virginia graduation rates exceed the nation’s, both average and in every single category. The rates are abominable: only three of every four students graduate with their peers; and it should be noted that the formulas used in this report (EdWeek) is being disputed.

    (It’s another, and sore subject, of calculations for graduation rates. This report may be challenged because it only uses standard diplomas. Far more ludicrous is VDOE’s tax-supported claim of 1.87% dropouts, though the Superintendant’s Annual Report shows a graduation rate of 76%; close to the EdWeek figure. )

    There are interesting details however. Virginia graduates 8% more students, male and female, than the national average. Whites graduated at only a few percentage point higher; most of Virginia’s better performance results from blacks’ graduation rates.

    The bad news, ususally trumpeted in the media, is that Virginia blacks graduate below (-8%) national average rates and far below (-14%) Virginia average rates. The good news is that black Virginians graduate far above (+24%) national black rates. In particular, black male Virginians graduate 30% more than black males nationwide!

    The report shows Virginia with a good educational system. More need to be done, but as important, Virginia does a better job —or Virginians do better— countering racial disparity in school achievement.

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