The Need for Equality in Education Still Exist

Now, even after the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board and the first time students of color became the majority in U.S. public schools - the state of education in Black America today is at a critical juncture. 
The achievement gap between Black children and their classmates continues to widen, and too many students are simply not being equipped with the tools that they need to succeed in a rapidly changing, global society.

Why? Because in areas where Black children are concentrated and poverty is pervasive, we are falling short of providing a high-quality education for them.

Of the 50.2 million students enrolled in public schools in the U.S. today, 16 percent are Black. While our national graduation rate is at 82 percent, the graduation rate for Black students is 57 percent. Those who do reach that graduation milestone are not as prepared as their classmates for learning beyond high school. 

Racial and Socioeconomic Achievement Gap
Upon entering college, only 12 percent of Black students are ready to succeed without taking remediation courses (basic skills courses) that can be so costly they lessen the odds of some students attaining a degree. These are sobering statistics. But if we want to close the racial and socioeconomic achievement gap, we must have a clear understanding of its exact dimensions and contours. 

Tools for Realizing High Standards
Not only do we need to be able to describe the problem, we need to also use our understanding to build tools that meet the challenge of educating all children to high standards. What are those tools?

In K-12 education, the emphasize needs to include the following: access to great teachers who deliver high-quality instruction; high expectations and challenging coursework; and approaches to personalized learning that allow a more tailored approach for students so we can meet their individual learning needs and build on their strengths.

The Single Most Important Quality of a Great School
The recent New Education Majority national poll of parents and families of color suggests that parents agree. It showed that Black parents overwhelmingly consider good teachers to be the single most important quality of a great school, and that they their young-sters should be challenged more in school to help ensure they are successful later in life.

Today, more than ever before, education doesn't end with high school. A post secondary degree or credentials offers the surest course to career opportunity and individual success in life. We need to make college more personalized and flexible to meet the needs of today's students, who are more diverse than ever. Many are working full-time, while others are raising kids or returning to school at an older age.

Why Some Students Drop Out

Georgia State University, for example, analyzed millions of student to try to learn why some students were dropping out. They found that a low grade in the first course in a student's major can signal trouble. The university gets an alert when students earn a C or lower in the first course tied to their major - and students get more support. It's one of the data-driven steps that helped Georgia State double the graduation rate for Black students and triple the rate for Hispanic students over the last decade.

Georgia State University, among other institutions, is facing the issue of educational inequity head-on and proving that it is not intractable or inevitable. The real question is, do we accept it in our country? Are we going to accept a system that sets students on different trajectories based on the color of their skin or the language they speak? Can we sit comfortably knowing that future leaders and great minds are sitting in classrooms today and not receiving the quality education they deserve?

Absolutely not. We cannot accept the status quo. It is time to look closely at approaches suggested by the data, listen to families and commit to implementing real solutions in our schools and communities.

Throughout history, Black people have always prioritized and fought for educational opportunities. Since the time when slaves learned to read and write despite the threat of physical danger that could result, through the battle for equality in our schools and Brown v. Board, the fight for opportunity through education, no matter the risks, is a part of our nation's story.

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