Essay The African American College Dropout Rate

These claims have been well documented. However, the connection to the graduation gap may be clearer with an answer of how other factors such as financial and other family problems brought about by poverty affect them. The rest of the book provides possible solutions to questions of invisibility such as respecting and valuing black students. Another solution is removing remedial programs for challenging curricula and supports that are appropriate.

In America, we are told that it is the land where everything and anything is possible. For many years, it wasn’t like that for African American. With many hard work, strength, and courage African American manage to earn the right to an education. To the African American community education became more of a need than a want. We’ve learn that education is such a powerful asset that with it you are unstoppable. You can do so much if you put your time and energy to it. Having an education to African American is the one hope for a brighter and better

For centuries African Americans have fought for equal rights, one of them being an opportunity for the chance to get an equal education. Many people believe that African Americans have an equal or better chance at getting an education than other students. This is not the case when in fact, it is actually harder for these three reasons: African American students tend to come from harsh, poverty stricken atmospheres. Shattered family lifestyles that make it difficult to pursue a higher education because they have not received the proper information. Secondly, just because African Americans are minorities does not mean that they receive a vast amount of government assistance or financial aid to pursue a higher education. Lastly, African

Students attend school starting at pre-school then kindergarten, kindergarten to first grade and leading up to middle school then high school, the classes and teachers are supposed to prepare them for the next level. With the correct preparation and tools, after graduating high school, many students have their mind set on attending college as the next level. However many African-American male students who do have the ability to graduate high school, are not prepared for their next level which is college. Due to the quality of these schools “the school districts in urban neighborhoods have fewer academic offerings, less qualified teachers, out of date materials and lower quality curriculum” (WOOD, J. (2011), results in the poor education of the minority students attending them. Also due to the different academic and environment backgrounds that white and black students come from, many teachers are unaware of how to teach black students and how to gain their attention in the classroom. Other than

The U.S. Department of Education’s Digest of Education Statistics (2010) compiles data on educational trends and statistics in the United States. According to the digest, in 2009 African Americans earned about 10 percent of all bachelor degrees awarded. Furthermore, about 20 percent of African Americans currently hold a college degree. When compared to the same rates for the white non-hispanic population, African Americans are largely lagging behind. The challenges that African Americans are facing must be met by post secondary institutions if this group is going to continue on the path of economic and career prosperity. This need is discussed in the report Minorities in Higher Education:

In the United States alone, minorities have struggled for centuries to earn the basic rights and opportunities as others. African Americans have always worked harder and been treated maliciously just because of the color of their skin. There have been numerous movements, peaceful protests, and brutal battles by black leaders against whites for equality, justice, and a fair chance at a better life. It is safe to say that in the past, blacks were not allowed to progress or have a mind of their own. In comparison to the past, the educational sector for minorities still remains as an extreme societal challenge. For many years, African Americans have been denied educational advancement opportunities. The higher education area suffers greatly for the black population but very few people will address why this matter occurs. Do black families’ socioeconomic status affect the children’s education? The socioeconomic status is easily defined as an individuals or families’ economic and social rank based on income, education level, and occupation. The socioeconomic status of black families does affect their children’s academic success, however; it does not determine their children’s success. This educational disadvantage for black students needs to be addressed because of the lack of financial and emotional support that minority students receive due to their parents lack of experience and knowledge with higher education. Many black students become a product of their environment because

A substantial amount of educational and psychological research has consistently demonstrated that African American students underperform academically relative to White students. For example, they tend to receive lower grades in school (e.g., Demo & Parker, 1987; Simmons, Brown, Bush, & Blyth, 1978), score lower on standardized tests of intellectual ability (e.g., Bachman, 1970; Herring, 1989; Reyes & Stanic, 1988; Simmons et al., 1978), drop out at higher rates (e.g., American Council on Education, 1990; Steele, 1992), and graduate from college with substantially lower grades than White students (e.g., Nettles, 1988). Such performance gaps can be attributed to

Under federal law, all children in the United States are entitled to free public education. Although public education is free, it is not necessarily adequate. For several decades, it has been questioned whether the United States' public school system is meeting the academic needs of African American boys. Teachers rarely connect with the black male culture, which results in high referral rates to special education. This oversight is problematic because, for the most part, the resources available in remedial education programs are insufficient. In this way, educators have failed to meet the needs of African American males. Teachers must start to teach themselves as well as their students about the African American culture so as to increase their understanding of those who are different. Until then, black males will continue to be excluded through their assignment to the category of special education.

Today's education is often viewed as failing in its goal of educating students, especially those students characterized as minorities, including African American, Hispanic, and Appalachian students (Quiroz, 1999). Among the minority groups mentioned, African American males are affected most adversely. Research has shown that when Black male students are compared to other students by gender and race they consistently rank lowest in academic achievement (Ogbu, 2003), have the worst attendance record (Voelkle, 1999), are suspended and expelled the most often (Raffaele Mendez, 2003; Staples, 1982), are most likely to drop out of school, and most often fail to graduate from high school or to earn a GED (Pinkney, 2000; Roderick, 2003).

Working thesis: The reason why African American students do not have a high rate of academic achievement is because of racism and prejudices, the way they are educated by educators, and their incomes.

No matter how we see ourselves, there will always be somebody who says we’re not good enough to be on the same level on them, when in reality, we are no different than them. Back in the mid 1900’s, African Americans had moved out of slavery and into segregation, their life taking a bittersweet turn into something that would change history forever. The Jim Crow Laws were made not named after a person, but using the slang word for black man “Jim” and the symbolism of the black crow. These laws were set to protect mainly the whites and it clearly highlighted where the African Americans stood in the social tower of America. Most Africans Americans had to live through the massive transition of slavery to segregation, but those born into it didn’t

One recent study determined that "Black students view academic excellence as something that belongs to White not Black students" (Sohn, 2011, p. 218). In other words, Black students who achieve academic excellence are "acting white" not acting Black. In Stuart's introduction he states that there are a number of experts that debate the legitimacy of the theory of acting white. As the author, he is not debating whether acting white actually takes place or not, but rather he is criticizing the behavior as detrimental to the Black community at large, and specifically the Black individual student. Buck also states that desegregation was something that had to happen but that the resulting culture of Black students being pitted against White students (oftentimes with extreme bias and rampant racism in the classroom and school system) led to an opposite effect (in many cases) than what was originally sought.

Many high school students succeed with a little leniency through their four years. The transfer from high school to college becomes overwhelming and a struggle for some. For students do not comprehend the importance of changing more than their location during the transition. A student must be psychologically, physically, and emotionally mature to pursue college and not venture into a point of no return. Dropping out of college makes the outlook of the conversion difficult to acquire. Individuals should take their time on deciding which college and/or university is the best match for them. There are various reasons that cause persons not to prosper. Issues that individuals may come upon might leave a lifelong scar. Matters such as these

He also talked about the increasing secondary school dropout rate of the Blacks. He said that this high dropout rate is what stopping the Black community to progress. In addition to that, he mentioned what happened during the “Brown Vs. Board of Education”. Before, there were

Statistically, many students of color drop out before reaching their high school graduation. According to The Associated Press, in 2015, while the national graduation rate in total “was 83.2 percent, it was only 77.8 percent for