A new report focusing on black males has shown the gap in achievement between black and white students is more drastic than thought before. The report compared such findings as 38% of white males in the fourth grade are proficient in reading as opposed to only 12% of black males in the fourth grade, and another comparison states that again, 12% of black males in the eighth grade were proficient in reading, while 44% of white males in the same grade had proficiency in reading. These results were pulled from the National Assessment for Educational Progress, a test which is given in the fourth and eighth grades. The most recent results were from tests given in 2009 across the United States in a variety of public school classrooms.
The release of this report will be performed by an advocacy group for urban public schools and it is hoped that the shocking results of the report will put in place an urge for change. Critics say the nation must gain a stronger sense of urgency regarding education if the work force of the future is to be properly educated. There have been searches for explanations of the disparity in education levels of non white students that are reaching past poverty, and it has been stated that the results of this report may cause more investigation into the difference in levels of proficiency amongst students. There has been talk of early childhood parenting activities amongst the various ethnic groups, as well as sociological and historical influences possibly playing a role. Unearthing the reasons behind the gaps in education achievement may mean tackling conversations that many people are not willing to have, according to sources from the Achievement Gap Initiative.
