• Introduction
• Preprimary Education and Parental Education
• Elementary/Secondary Education
• Postsecondary Education
• In the Labor Force

Status and Trends in the Education of Blacks examines the mix of progress on key education indicators of Black children and adults in the United States. The report released by the National Center for Education Statistics shows that more Black students have completed high school and gone on to college, levels of parental education of Black children have increased, and the number of Black individuals and families below the poverty level has decreased. Despite these gains, progress has been uneven over time and across various measures, and differences persist between Blacks and Whites on key indicators of education performance. The following are highlights from the report.

• Black children are more likely than White or Hispanic children to be enrolled in center-based preprimary education at the ages of 3, 4, and 5.
• The gap between the percentages of White and Black children whose mothers attained at least a high school education declined between 1974 and 1999, but some difference remained in 1999. The gap between the percentages of White and Black children whose mothers attained a bachelor's degree has been increasing since 1974 (figure A).

Figure A. Percent of 6- to 18-year-olds, by mothers' highest education level and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1974 to 1999

• Most Black students attend public schools where minorities represent the majority of the student body. Seventy-three percent of Black 4th-grade students were enrolled in schools with more than one-half of the students eligible to receive a free or reduced-price lunch.
• No differences were detected in the percent of Black and White 8th-graders or Black and White 12th-graders absent 3 or more days in the preceding month.
• Blacks have higher dropout rates than Whites but lower dropout rates than Hispanics.
• Long-term trends in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores show increased performance in reading for Black students between 1971 and 1999. Trends in Black performance in NAEP mathematics and sciences also show improvements over the long term.
• In 1998, Black students were less likely than White students to take advanced mathematics courses and some advanced science courses and less likely than Hispanic students to take advanced foreign language classes. Between 1984 and 2000, the number of Black students per 1,000 12th-graders taking Advanced Placement (AP) examinations increased (figure B). However, fewer Black students per 1,000 12th-graders than White or Hispanic students took AP exams in 2000.
• In 1999, a higher percentage of Black and Hispanic children than White children attended public schools chosen by their parents; however, a lower percentage of Black and Hispanic children than White children were in private schools.
• In 1999, Black students were more likely than White students to report discussing the national news and watching or listening to the national news with others.
• Blacks ages 12 to 17 were less likely than Whites and Hispanics of the same ages to have used alcohol or tobacco.

Figure B. Number of students who took Advanced Placement (AP) examinations (per 1,000 12th-graders), by race/ethnicity: 1984–2000

• In 1999–2000, the proportion of associate's degrees earned by Blacks was greater than the proportion of bachelor's degrees earned by Blacks.
• Nearly one-quarter of all bachelor's degrees earned by Blacks in 1999 were earned at historically Black colleges and universities.
• The proportion of Blacks completing college increased between 1975 and 2000; however, Blacks still remained less likely than Whites to earn degrees (table A).
• In 1999, Black instructional faculty in colleges and universities were more likely to be assistant professors and instructors than professors or associate professors.

• Blacks in 2000 had higher unemployment rates than both Whites and Hispanics at every level of education.
• Fewer Black and Hispanic men and women than White men and women held managerial or professional positions in 2000.

Table A. Percent of 25- to 29-year-olds who have completed college (bachelor's degree or higher), by race/ethnicity and sex: Selected years 1965 to 2000

—Data not available.

¹Data for White and Black include those of Hispanic origin.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2001, based on U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, March Current Population Surveys, various years. (Originally published on p. 107 of the complete report from which this article is excerpted.)

Data sources: The data are from numerous sources, including the following: NCES: Data from several reports, including The Condition of Education, Digest of Education Statistics, and Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000. Data from several surveys, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES), Common Core of Data (CCD), and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Other: Data from agencies and organizations such as the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP); U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics; College Entrance Examination Board; and American College Testing Program (ACT). Data from the report America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. For technical information, see the complete report: Hoffman, K., and Llagas, C. (2003). Status and Trends in the Education of Blacks (NCES 2003–034). Author affiliations: K. Hoffman, Education Statistics Services Institute/American Institutes for Research; C. Llagas, American Institutes for Research. For questions about content, contact Tom Snyder (tom.snyder@ed.gov). To obtain the complete report (NCES 2003–034), call the toll-free ED Pubs number (877–433–7827) or visit the NCES Electronic Catalog (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch).