New government numbers offer a mixed snapshot of progress for the nation’s schoolchildren – with worrisome figures on how many students miss school, stubborn disparities on discipline, but encouraging strides in cutting the overall number of suspensions.
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The department’s Civil Rights Data Collection for the 2013-14 school year showed that the higher rate of suspensions come as black students are more likely than whites to be absent and to have inexperienced teachers, and are less likely to have access to science and math courses.
Out-of-school suspensions dropped 20 percent nationally in recent years, but students of color and students with disabilities are still more likely to face harsh discipline than their peers, according to new federal data.
An astonishing new report has shown that African-American students in the America education system are four times more likely to be suspended from school, when compared to their while classmates.
Black K-12 students were recorded as 3.8 times more likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions than their white counterparts.
Audio clip: Listen to audio clip. Similar disparities exist for black and Hispanic students. It partners with states and local groups in 30 communities around the country to identify mentors to help chronically absent students get back on track.
“I have a hard time believing that our kids are that much more absent than other states”, said Dixie Grunenfelder, director of secondary education for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Of the 100 largest school districts by enrollment, the Clark County School District had the 23rd highest rate of chronic absenteeism. This number increases in high school, when 18% of all high school students are listed as chronically absent. The data found 3.5 million elementary school students are chronically absent, as well.
“The CRDC data are more than numbers and charts-they illustrate in powerful and troubling ways disparities in opportunities and experiences that different groups of students have in our schools”, King said in a press release.
The survey included 1,439,188 preschool students enrolled in 28,783 schools.
Lhamon called the 20 percent reduction “breathtaking”. Nationwide, only 48 percent of public high schools offer calculus; 60 percent offer physics; 72 percent offer chemistry; and 78 percent offer Algebra II. As it did for 2011-12, the data collection covered more than 50 students enrolled from almost every school across the US.
– American Indian or Alaska Native, Latino, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and multiracial boys are also disproportionately suspended from school, representing 15% of K-12 students but 19% of K-12 students receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. School officials said they cross-referenced attendance with academic achievement and found that students who were not regularly attending struggle to maintain grades and earn credit, according to the district’s website.
In 2013, Baltimore schools suspended more 4- and 5-year-olds than any other jurisdiction in the state, leading Mr. Alonso’s successor, Gregory Thornton, to require that principals consult with the central office before suspending pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students. Students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act represent 11 percent of the students in schools offering AP, but less than 2 percent of those taking such a class.
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Critics of law enforcement presence on school grounds point out that officers are more likely to escalate situations that could be de-escalated.
