By Zachary Roth
Buzz up!34 votes ShareretweetEmailPrintBy Zachary Roth zachary Roth – Wed Nov 10, 1:20 pm ET
A new report has found that black boys lag behind their white counterparts in reading and math to an even greater extent than previously thought. The sponsor of the report -- the Council of the Great City Schools, an advocacy group for urban public schools -- calls the findings as "jaw-dropping."

The study concluded that the school performance gap between black boys and white boys couldn't be chalked up to poverty alone. That could provide ammunition to those who argue that cultural factors, as opposed to economic forces, explain low educational performance among African-Americans.

The study found that just 12 percent of black fourth-grade boys are proficient in reading, compared with 38 percent of white boys, the New York Times reports. Only 12 percent of black eighth-grade boys are proficient in math, compared with 44 percent of white boys.

The report also says that black boys drop out of high school at nearly twice the rate of white boys, and have SAT scores that are 104 points lower, on average.


Poverty isn't the sole explanation for the differences. The report found that poor white boys do as well at reading and math as non-poor black boys. That will give a boost to those who argue for the need to look at differences in culture and child-rearing techniques. That "culture of poverty" approach, championed by the late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, has long been treated gingerly, out of concern that emphasizing cultural differences could be perceived as a form of racism. But it has been making a comeback of late.

"There's accumulating evidence that there are racial differences in what kids experience before the first day of kindergarten," Ronald Ferguson, a Harvard University scholar who focuses on the racial achievement gap, told the Times. "They have to do with a lot of sociological and historical forces. In order to address those, we have to be able to have conversations that people are unwilling to have."

Ferguson added that those conversations should include "the activities that parents conduct with their 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. How much we talk to them, the ways we talk to them, the ways we enforce discipline, the ways we encourage them to think and develop a sense of autonomy."

(Photo: AP/Alex Brandon)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/report-black-boys-lagging-badly-in-school#mwpphu-container

Ndipe's comment: What's to be blamed, rap music?

nothing new, really.

asians tend to lead in the science and math fields.

does anyone have an idea why this is so.

practice, discipline or do they just have a greater interest in learning.

tpia@:

nothing new, really.

asians tend to lead in the science and math fields.

does anyone have an idea why this is so.

practice, discipline or do they just have a greater interest in learning.

Dunno about Asians, but blacks, what's the problem? One guy said it's a racist report, but I feel that all this hiphop music and rap music which glorifies thug life, bling life and violence play a part.

hiphop fans always take it personally when anyone says that.


asians tend to excel in science and math- either due to hard work or something. No one knows for sure.

blacks most times simply dont make an effort for various reasons including dislike of anything they consider "white" culture.

then the lure of quick and bigger money in other areas besides education.

No matter what black boys will always have swagger

true sha.

they still have women swooning for them regardless whatever statistics are dug up.

might be the reason for the i-dont-care attitude.

money over matter et all.

One guy complained that it's a racist report against blacks because of the 'jaw dropping' emphasis.

the jaw dropping phrase may have been sarcasm since most people already know how things are.

^ thats true. Its pretty obvious. Even on college campus if you are going to find any black person in science or engineering it is going to be a girl. And if it is a guy- he is not native african american. Look at it from my perspective though- you can use this to pick up more girls

A nigga will always remain a nigga. True, we suck in the academia but rule the entertainment, arts and muzik sector.
Its just like division of labor. We rule our world, the whites continue to research and discover. Nothing can change this unless you change our skin color to white.
I'm happy 2 be black cus blacks are the most talented, have the most beautiful chicks and MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.
Imagine a city without a black man?
Its like a house without a roof.
One luv all my homies! Thats whatz up.

Yeah ^^

We rule entertainment. We get more chicks. We make things happen. Are these really something to be proud of? Why can't we invent stuffs as well? Abeg make una stop to dey console unasef jor. It is indeed jaw-dropping and sad.

steeze:

We rule entertainment. We get more chicks. We make things happen. Are these really something to be proud of? Why can't we invent stuffs as well? Abeg make una stop to dey console unasef jor. It is indeed jaw-dropping and sad.

Abeg help me ask them.

SEFAGO:

^ thats true. Its pretty obvious. Even on college campus if you are going to find any black person in science or engineering it is going to be a girl. And if it is a guy- he is not native african american. Look at it from my perspective though- you can use this to pick up more girls

True dat. Even here In the U.k, If you are going to find a Black person in Uni studying a credible degree(not Iya Apati studies and what not), it is highly likely they are off African Descent. And if that person happens to be of carribeam descent, it's most likely she is female.

Yeah, just search for ''my school comm'' (type it without space) on facebook and LIKE it, you'll get the latest gist about our tertiary schools in Nigeria and/or otherwise concerning admissions and all other educational stuffs.

I found it useful and I don't want to be selfish; therefore, that's why I'm sharing this.

@all, JUST HAVE A LOOK AT THE FB PAGE AND YOU'LL BE NATURAL FORCED TO PRESS THE 'LIKE' BUTTON! Enjoy!

True dat. Even here In the U.k, If you are going to find a Black person in Uni studying a credible degree(not Iya Apati studies and what not), it is highly likely they are off African Descent. And if that person happens to be of carribeam descent, it's most likely she is female.

Well the problem in the UK is that there are tons of Nigerians anyways so numbers come into play. i dont know how many they are compared to the Caribbean but london sometimes feels like lagos lol. In the US there are a larger variety of black people.

In the US, Caribbean and Africans significantly dominate education especially in the Ivies/top privates.Especially Caribbean women. The claim is that 66% of the black people in top schools in the US are of Caribbean and African descent especially immigrants. I have a feeling its more. The problem is the immigrants want to assimilate to their environment, so most of the Caribbean people try and talk/act like African-Americans. When you see them you might think they are African American but later you find out there families are from the Caribbean.

One of my friends went to Philips Andover, the famous American boarding school, and she said that 90% of the black people where from Nigeria/Ghana or the Caribbean, and she was one of the only African Americans. She also felt left out because NIgerians only hang out with each other lol.

I also one taught in a public school in the US which was predominantly composed of low-income minorities. My experience there made me thank God that I went to secondary school in NIgeria.

http://www.theroot.com/buzz/black-immigrants-overrepresented-ivy-league

"Immigrant blacks," who come from families who have emigrated from the West Indies or Africa (mostly Ghana or Nigeria), make up 41 percent of Ivy League schools, according to a 2007 study by Princeton and University of Pennsylvania researchers. In contrast, black immigrants only make up 13 percent of the black population of 18-19 year olds in the United States.

As I said the figure is prolly more, because most ppl dont like claiming naija or ghana haha