Dropout Crisis in New York City Affects Fifty Percent of Black and Latino Male Students, According to Metropolitan Center for Urban Education

New York City - Given the educational reforms of the New York City Department of Education, will these changes be enough to reduce alarming dropout rates among Black and Latino males?

In New York City, the largest public school system in the nation, only about 44 percent of both Black and Latino males from the 2005 cohort graduated after six years of high school.

The Black and Latino Male Advocacy Coalition, based in New York University's Metro Center for Urban Education, released research findings that closely examined who dropped out and when, as well as looked at student achievement levels in middle and high school.

"Our assumption is that by knowing more about who is likely to dropout, and at what point in their education they are at greatest risk, we can more effectively determine the types of interventions that are needed and better work to reverse this alarming problem," stated Pedro Noguera, Executive Director of Metro Center.

About 67% of the students who dropped out repeated ninth grade after their first year of high school, while 39% repeated ninth grade a second time after their second year of high school. By the expected 11th grade year only about 7 percent were on track (in the 11th grade).

Other indications of at-risk Black and Latino male students include class failure rates. In the first year of high school about 67 percent of the dropouts failed math, 63 percent failed science, and 49 percent failed English.

"Our analyses indicated the 9th grade to be a critical point of intervention. Patterns of high school performance appeared to be largely established in the 9th grade," said Edward Fergus, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Ben Meade, Research Associate at the Metro Center and co-authors of the research brief. "We have to identify at-risk Black and Latino male students and target effective interventions early-before they reach high school."

Key findings from the Metro Center report:

• Among the 2006-2007 cohort for NYC high schools, nearly 19% of Latino males and 14% of Black males dropped out.
• Black and Latino male dropouts tended to be overage. Among the dropout population, overage students (e.g., one year older than average of student population) comprised 16% of the population, in comparison to other groups where overage students were 3% or lower.
• A large portion of Black and Latino males who dropped out remained in high school for at least three years. After three years of high school, more than 70 percent of the students who dropped out were still in school.

To read the full report: [PDF]