Table Of ContentThe JBHE Foundation, Inc
JBHE's Updated Ranking of the States According to Black-White SAT Scoring Gaps
Source: The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, No. 36 (Summer, 2002), pp. 114-119
Published by: The JBHE Foundation, Inc
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JBHE's Updated Ranking of the States According
to Black-White SAT Scoring Gaps
In JBHE'sc urrentt ally of the states, the SATp erformanceg ap betweenb lacks and whites is as low as 44 points in North Dakota to a high of
456 points in the District of Columbia. As expected, the SAT gap is lowest in states that have few, if any, racially segregated inner-city
schools. The gap is the highest in the District of Columbia where very large numbers of white students attend quality private schools,
whereas most blacks are enrolled at inferior and almost all-black public schools.
S WE REPORTEDi n the Autumn 2001 issue the SAT is usually taken only by the state's best quali-
of JBHE, nationwide, black students on fied high school students who are looking to attend
average score 201 points - or about 17 out-of-state and usually prestigious colleges and uni-
percent - below whites on the combined versities. Therefore, the mean SAT scores for both
mathematics and verbal portions of black and white students in these states tend to
the Scholastic Assessment Test ,1 be far higher than the mean SAT scores in other
(SAT). But statistics obtained ^ states in which almost all college-bound stu-
from The College Board and re- dents take the SAT.
"'
cently analyzed by The Journal of Blacks . ! For example, in 2001 the mean SAT
'-
in Higher Education show that there are . I ~:0 score for blacks in New York, a state in
very large state-by-state variations in the which 77 percent of all high school grad-
results. In many states black SAT scores are \ uates take the SAT test, was 865. In Illi-
far higher than the average SAT score for y ' ~ ~n ois, where only 12 percent of all high
blacks nationwide. In other states, black per- ^{ -1 school graduatest ake the SAT (and they
formance on the SAT is significantly below t ;\ ~ tend to be the most academically talented
the national average for African Americans. students who are looking to attend elite
In some states, such as New Hampshirea nd (1. l out-of-state colleges), the mean SAT
Utah where the black population is very \ . !l score for blacks was 987. Blacks score
low, the SAT scoring gap between blacks ~J / . higher in Illinois than in New York, not
and whites is much smaller than the nation- because blacks in the state are smartero r
wide average of 201. But in some states and attend better schools, but because the
the District of Columbia the racial scoring SAT results in the state are measuringt wo
gap on the SAT is very large, and in a num- 1L [ radically differentp ools of test takers.
ber of states the racial gap is growing.
The variations in black SAT scores are Problems in Compiling a
strongly influenced by whether the public university State-by-State Scorecard
system in a given state requires the SAT for its appli- When we compare the scores of blacks and
cants or whether instead the state system prefers the whites within any particular state, we are comparing
admission test of the American College Testing Program for the most part two groups with roughly similar educa-
(ACT).* In states in which most studentst ake the ACT test, tional aspirations.I n a state such as Illinois, where the state
university system prefers applicants to take the ACT test,
*The SAT is the preferredc ollege admission examinationa mong the states both blacks and whites who take the SAT tend to be the top
along both East and West coasts and in Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, Vermont,
and Indiana.T he standardizedt est of the AmericanC ollege Testing (ACT) high school students in that state. Thus, while it is not sta-
programf or college admission is the preferredt est in the other states, most tistically fair to compare black and white scores on the
of which are in the nation's midsection. As an example of the differentt est
SAT in Illinois to black and white scores in other states
preferences, 82 percent of all high school graduatesi n the state of Con-
necticut take the SAT whereas only 4 percent of all high school graduates such as New York, where the SAT is the preferredt est for
in Mississippi take the SAT.
114 SUMMER 2002
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AN UPDATEDR ANKINGO F THES TATESA CCORDING TO THE BLACK-WHITESA T SCORING GAP
college admission, it is meaningful to
compare how well blacks perform com- It Is Only in States With Small Black PopulationsT hat
pared to whites on the SAT within Illinois. Black SAT Scores Are Nearly Equal to White Scores
SATP articipationa nd Scores by State and Race in the Year2 000
It is also useful to compare SAT results for
(Rankedb y the Smallest Black-WhiteS ATG ap)
blacks and whites within every other state.
Black SAT test takers in North Dakota Percentageo f Percentage
HighS chool of All
produced the overall highest scores in the Graduates SATT est White Black Black-
WhoT ake TakersW ho Combined Combined White
nation. Blacks in North Dakota had an
State the SAT AreB lack SATS core SATS core Gap_.
average combined SAT score of 1157. NorthD akota* 4 % 1.6% 1201 1157 44
However, because the University of North New Hampshire* 72 0.9 1036 971 65
Utah* 5 1.1 1163 1077 86
Dakota and other state-operatedc olleges Idaho* 17 0.3 1091 972 119
and universities in the state prefer appli- Maine* 69 0.8 1016 882 134
New Mexico* 13 3.1 1127 988 139
cants to take the ACT test, only 4 percent Hawaii* 52 1.6 1057 916 141
of all high school seniors in the state took Vermont* 69 0.6 1025 879 146
Nevada 33 6.4 1041 892 149
the SAT. There were only six blacks who Washington 53 3.0 1065 908 157
took the SAT in North Dakota this year. Arizona 34 4.0 1073 908 165
Colorado 31 3.3 1092 923 169
These six black students did particularly Indiana 60 6.0 1013 840 173
well on the SAT, scoring nearly 100 points WestV irginia 18 3.6 1040 864 176
Georgia 63 26.2 1030 852 178
higher than the nationwide white mean. Minnesota* 9 2.7 1180 998 182
Similar results took place in Utah, anoth- Oregon 55 1.9 1064 882 182
Oklahoma 8 7.2 1145 962 183
er state in which the ACT is the preferred
RhodeI sland 71 4.7 1029 845 184
college admission test. In Utah, only 15 New York 77 12.3 1051 865 186
blacks took the SAT. But they performed Louisiana 7 16.8 1161 974 187
SouthC arolina 57 27.3 1029 841 188
very well on the test with a mean score of Florida 54 14.4 1045 855 190
1077, 17 points above the nationwide Massachusetts 79 5.2 1048 857 191
Kansas 9 3.6 1172 979 193
white mean. Illinois 12 7.3 1181 987 194
Blacks in Pennsylvaniaw ho took the SAT Alaska 51 3.5 1057 860 197
Arkansas 6 8.9 1134 933 201
scored the lowest combined score of NationalA verageS ATs 45 9.4 1060 859 201
African Americans for any state in the Delaware 67 16.5 1038 .835 203
Ohio 26 8.5 1090 886 204
nation. (Black students in the District of Pennsylvania 71 7.7 1022 817 205
Columbia scored even lower.) In Pennsyl- Texas 53 12.0 1051 846 205
NorthC arolina 65 21.3 1041 835 206
vania almost all college-bound high school Kentucky 12 5.0 1110 904 206
studentst ake the SAT,w hich is not the case Virginia 68 17.6 1054 848 206
Iowa* 5 2.3 1205 998 207
in Utah and other states where blacks
New Jersey 81 11.7 1057 850 207
scored the highest on the SAT. Thus, it is Tennessee 13 10.3 1140 932 208
Montana* 23 0.2 1081 872 209
irrelevantt o compare black SAT scores in California 51 6.9 1080 867 213
Pennsylvania with black SAT scores in Connecticut 82 8.1 1054 836 218
Utah because we are comparing a com- Mississippi 4 18.5 1159 936 223
Nebraska 8 3.3 1141 917 224
pletely differentp ool of test takersw ith sig- Michigan 11 14.0 1164 934 230
nificantlyd ifferenta cademicq ualifications. Alabama 9 16.1 1154 923 231
Maryland 65 26.4 1086 853 233
Missouri 8 8.2 1182 946 236
Comparing Black and White Students Wisconsin 6 4.8 1199 942 257
District of Columbia 53 59.7 1253 797 456
Within the Same State
Note: Due to the very small number of black SAT test takers, the College Board did not post the results for
A more meaningful comparison occurs blacks in South Dakota or Wyoming. Readersa re cautioned that in states markedw ith an asteriskt he number
of black SAT test takers is so small that the results cannot be considereds tatistically significant.
when we look at how blacks in a particular
Source: The College Board. Table ? The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
SUMMER 2002 115
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THEJOURNALO F BLACKSI N HIGHERE DUCATION
state score on the SAT sissippi. This suggests that blacks in South Carolina are
StatesW ith the Highest compared to white stu- receiving K-12 education that is more equal in quality to
BlackS ATS cores,2 001
dent test takers in the that of whites than is the case in Mississippi.
In all states,e xceptN orth same state. Using this The SAT scoring gap between blacks and whites was
Dakotaa nd Utah,t hem ean
scoreo f blacksi s belowt he comparisonw e can deter- lowest in the state of North Dakota. There the black com-
nationwidme eans coreo f mine the black-white bined SAT score of 1157 was only 44 points below the
whites.T hem eanw hites core S
standsa t 1060. composite white score of 1201. Once more we note that
each state. Then we can only six blacks in the entire state of North Dakota took the
NorthD akota 1157
Utah 1077 compare the black-white SAT.N orth Dakota is also for the most parta rurals tate that
Iowa 998 gap from one state to does not have any heavily black inner-city schools where
New Mexico 988 another. standardizedt est scores are generally low.
Illinois 987
KKaannssaass 997799 Consider the following: The SAT scoring gap in 2001 was also well below the
Louisiana 972 In 2001 blacks in Missis- national average in Utah, New Hampshire, Idaho, Maine,
Idaho 972 sippi had a composite New Mexico, Hawaii, and Vermont.B ut here, once more,
New Hampshire 971 score of 936 on the SAT. all of these states have very few black students and few
Note: Othert hani n New Hampshire, Blacksi n South Carolina areas of urban segregation. Therefore, it is likely that
most college-boundst udentsin these
statest aket he ACTc ollegea dmission had a composites core of blacks in these states for the most part receive a secondary
test. Only studentsw ho applyt o the
nation's highest-rankecdo lleges and only 841. At first glance education equal in quality to that of white students.
universitiefsr omt heses tatest aket he
SAT.T his tendst o inflateb lackS AT one would concludet hat
scores in these states well above the blacks in Mississippi "Blacks score higher in Illinois than in New York,n ot
nationaalv eragfeo rAfricaAn mericans.
were doing far bettert han because blacks in the state are smarter or attend better
blacks in South Carolina.H owever, in Mississippi only the schools, but because the SAT results in the state are
academically strongest students seeking to attend Ivy measuring two radically differentp ools of test takers."
League or other prestigious out-of-state colleges take the
SAT. Most high school students take the ACT test. This The SAT racial score gap was the greatest,b y a large mar-
factor raises the average black SAT score in Mississippi. gin, in the District of Columbia. Blacks in the District had
But in South Carolina nearly all college-bound high a combined SAT score of 797, or a huge 456 points below
school graduatest ake the SAT.T hus, the gap in SAT scores the median white score of 1253 in the District. However,
between black studentsi n Mississippi and black studentsi n the District presents an extremely differents et of black and
South Carolinai s largely explained by the fact that we are white students. Very large numbers of white high school
comparinga n entirely differentg roup of test takers. studentsi n the District are educated in high-quality,p rivate
preparatory schools, whereas almost all black students
"Since 1988 the steady progress in closing the receive their education in the financially strapped and
racial SAT gap has not only come to a screeching largely dilapidated D.C. public
halt, it has reversed." school system.
StatesW ith the Lowest
BlackS ATS cores
But when we compare the black-to-white SAT results States in Which Blacks in the Year2 001
within each state, an entirely differentp icturee merges. The Have Improved Their
Dist. of Columbia7 97
black-white SAT scoring gap in South Carolina is 188 SAT Scores Pennsylvania 817
points, or 13 points, better than the national black-white Without regard to the makeup of Delaware 835
SAT gap. In Mississippi the black-white scoring gap is the pool of test takers or the per- NorthC arolina 835
Connecticut 836
much larger at 223 points, or 22 points greater than the centage of students who take the
Indiana 840
national black-white SAT gap. Thus, when compared to SAT, it is useful to note where SouthC arolina 841
whites within their own state, blacks are actually faring black SAT scores have risen or RhodeI sland 845
better on the SAT in South Carolina than they are in Mis- declined in the past several years. Texas 846
116 SUMMER 2002
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AN UPDATEDR ANKING OF THES TATESA CCORDING TO THE BLACK-WHITESA T SCORING GAP
Whether we are comparing states in which only the most
highly qualified high school graduates take the SAT or States Where Black SAT Scores
states in which a vast majority of high school graduates Have Shown the Most Improvement
(Rlankedb y Black SATS core Improvement,1 987-2001)
take the test, any improvement in black SAT scores is
worth noting. Black Black
Combined Combined
Since 1987 blacks nationwide have improved their com- SAT Score SAT Score
bined verbal and math SAT scores from 839 to 859, a mod- Stea te 1987 2001 Differeen ce
est increase of 1.4 percent. Despite the nationalt rend,t here Mic higan 856 934 +17 8
Illin ois 916 987 +;7 1
have been wide variations among the states in the scoring Okd ahoma 903 962 +:5 9
trend for blacks on the SAT. For example, in Michigan the Ne? wM exico 930 988 + 58
Mii ssouri 889 946 +t5 7
mean SAT score for black students rose from 856 in 1987
Ge' orgia 805 852 + 17
to 934 in 2001, a rise of 78 points, or 5.5 percent.T his was Mii nnesota 951 998 +41 7
the largest increase in the nation. Perhaps many academi- Sou th Carolina 795 841 +44 6
Nc) rthC arolina 790 83+55 45
cally talented black studentsi n Michigan have been turned
Co) lorado 889 923 +i3 4
off by the controversy over affirmative action admissions Wii sconsin 911 942 +.3 1
at the University of Michigan. Instead of applying to the Al abama 895 923 + 28
University of Michigan, which does not require the SAT, W<as hington 882 908 +:2 6
Tex: as 821 846 +;2 5
many of these bright black students may be applying to Lo) uisiana 949 972 +:2 3
out-of-state colleges and universities that do require the Ne: w Jersey 827 850 +;2 3
FI orida 834 855 + 21
SAT.A largern umbero f top black studentst aking the SAT
Nai tionalA verage 839 859 +i2 0
in Michigan may be the primary reason why the overall Incli ana 822 840 + 18
SAT scores for blacks have risen in recent years. However, Al aska 844 860 + 16
Ne sbraska 901 917 + 16
the good news on black SAT scores in Michigan is some-
Kan sas 964 979 + 15
what tempered by the fact that only a small percentage of New York 853 865 + 12
black high school graduatesi n Michigan take the SAT. Cal ifornia 858 867 +9
M;a ssachusetts 848 857 -9
01i o 877 886 -+ 9
"Significant SAT score improvements that were Hat waii 908 916 +8
greater than the national average were recorded by OMrii: sesgiossni ppi 983708 983862 -'+ 64
black students in South Carolina, North Carolina, Ccn necticut 834 836 +2
and Georgia." IoNw a 996 998 +2
Rhr odeI sland 843 845 +2
Illinois had the second-highest rise in black SAT scores. Ma; ryland 853 853 0
Ne. vada 892 892 0
But here again the small number of black SAT test takers Ar: kansas 934 933 -1
in this state means that the statistics cannot be assumed to Ari zona 914 908 -6
aine 888 882 -6
be establishing any sort of lasting trend.
De- laware 845 835 - 10
Large SAT point gains by college-bound blacks also Pen nsylvania 830 817 - 13
occurredi n Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Missouri. Yet in Ke3 ntucky 918 904 14
Di strict of Columbia 815 797 - 18
these states the ACT test is taken by most high school stu-
We(s t Virginia 886 864 - 22
dents. The SAT test score improvementi n these states is for Ten nessee 969 932 - 37
a small minority of all black college-bound students. Nev- Ne; w Hampshire 1038 971 -i5 7
Ve~ rmont 967 879 -E8 8
ertheless, the improvement shows that the brightest black
students in these states are improving their test scores by a Note: There are not enough black SAT test takers in the statesof Idaho, Mon-
significant degree, permittingt hem to better compete with tana, South Dakota, NorthD akota,U tah. or Wyomingt o produces tatisticallys ig-
nificant results.
whites for admittancet o the nation's most prestigious col-
leges and universities. Source: 7he College Board. Table ? The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
SUMMER 2002 117
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THEJ OURNALO F BLACKSI N HIGHERE DUCATION
Significant SAT score improvements greater than the
States Where Blacks Have Shown the Best SAT national average were also recorded by black students in
Improvement Relative to Whites North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina. In all of
(Rankedb y Black-WhitSeA TS core
these states, the SAT is the most popular standardizedt est
Gap Impir ovemen1t9 87-2001)
for college admissions. Thus, these broad SAT score gains
Black- Black-
WhiteS AT WhiteS AT are across the board. They include progress by all college-
Score Gap Score Gap bound black students in these states. The huge gains in
State 1987 2001 Difference
black SAT scores in Georgia, South Carolina, and North
New Mexico 196 139 -57
Carolinas ince 1987 - more thand ouble the nationala ver-
Colorado 200 169 -31
Oklahoma 210 183 -27 age - are especially encouraging. Black SAT scores also
Michigan 253 230 -23 climbed at a rate higher than the national average in the
Washington 179 157 -22
Nebraska 234 224 -10 heavily black states of Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, New
Georgia 187 178 -9 Jersey, and Florida.
SouthC arolina 195 188 -7
Alaska 202 197 -5
Florida 193 190 -3 "In some of our most populous states with a large
Arizona 165 165 0 number of black students in inner-city schools, the
Alabama 230 231 +1
Indiana 171 173 +2 racial SAT gap is actually growing at a rate
WestV irginia 174 176 +2 significantly higher than the national average."
Virginia 204 206 +4
NorthC arolina 199 206 +7
New York 178 186 . -u8 The largest drop in black SAT scores during the 1987 to
Nevada 140 149 +9
2001 period was in Vermont.T here the average black score
Mississippi 213 223 +10
New Jersey 197 207 +10 droppedb y 88 points. But here again the small number of
Texas 195 205 +10 black SAT test takersi n the state makes this decline statis-
NationalA verage 191 201 +10
Delaware 191 203 +12 tically irrelevant.M ore troublesome are the drops in SAT
Maine 121 134 +13 scores in Tennessee, Pennsylvania,D elaware, and the Dis-
Missouri 223 236 +13
trict of Columbia. Each of these jurisdictions has a large
Ohio 191 204 +13
Kansas 179 193 +14 number of black students who attend inner-city high
Illinois 178 194 +16 schools and these schools are almost certainly failing to
Hawaii 124 141 +17
Iowa 190 207 +17 teach black students the basic skills necessary to gain
Massachusetts 174 191 +17 admission to colleges and universities. The fact that these
RhodeI sland 166 184 +18
states saw a decline in black SAT scores when nationwide
California 194 213 +19
Kentucky 185 206 +21 there was a 20-point improvement in black SAT scores is
Arkansas 179 201 +22 cause for serious concern.
Oregon 161 182 +21
Connecticut 196 218 +22
Pennsylvania 182 205 +23 State-by-State Changes in
Minnesota 156 182 +26 the Black-White SAT Gap
Louisiana 160 187 +27
Maryland 204 233 +29 In the 12-year period between 1976 and 1987, the nation-
Wisconsin 203 257 +54 wide black-white scoring gap on the SAT narroweds ignif-
Tennessee 149 208 +59
New Hampshire 1 65 +64 icantly. The improvement in black scores was so strong
Districto f Columbia 391 456 +65 that educators hoped that within a generation the black-
Vermont 58 146 +88 white gap would disappear altogether.U nfortunately,t his
Note: There are not enough black SAT test takers in the states of Idaho, Mon- was not to be. Since 1988 the progress in closing the racial
ntaifniaca,N not rrethsuD latsk. ota,S outh Dakota,U tah, or Wyomingt o produces tatisticallys ig- SAT gap has not only come to a screeching halt, it has
reversed. In 1987 the black-white scoring gap nationwide
Source: The College Board. Table ? The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. stood at 191 points. Today the gap is 201 points.
118 SUMMER 2002
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VVeerrmmoonntt.. TThhee bbllaacckk--wwhhiittee SSAATT ssccoorriinngg ggaapp iinn VVeerrmmoonntt
ggrreeww ffrroomm 5588 ppooiinnttss iinn 11998877 ttoo 114466 ppooiinnttss iinn 22000011.. BBuutt wwee ""AAllll bbllaacckk ssttuuddeennttss aaddmmiitttteedd ttoo tthhee pprreessttiiggiioouuss
rreemmiinndd tthhee rreeaaddeerrtt hhaatt oonnllyy aa vveerryy ffeeww bbllaacckk ssttuuddeennttsstt ooookk NNeeww EEnnggllaanndd ccoolllleeggeess mmeett tthhee mmiinniimmuumm
tthhee SSAATT iinn tthhee ssttaattee ooff VVeerrmmoonntt.. aaccaaddeemmiicc ssttaannddaarrddss rreeqquuiirreeddff oorr wwhhiitteess.. ""
IInn ssoommee ssttaatteess wwiitthh llaarrggee nnuummbbeerrss ooff bbllaacckk ssttuuddeennttss wwhhoo
ttaakkee tthhee SSAATT,, tthheerree wwaass aa vveerryy llaarrggee iinnccrreeaassee iinn tthhee bbllaacckk-- TThhee rreesseeaarrcchheerraass llssoo cchhaalllleennggeett hhee tthheeoorryytt hhaattbb llaacckkss ttuu--
wwhhiittee SSAATT ggaapp dduurriinngg tthhee 11998877 ttoo 22000011 ppeerriioodd.. IInn TTeenn-- ddeennttss aaddmmiitttteedduu nnddeerraa ffffiirrmmaattiivveeaa ccttiioonn aarree nnoott qquuaalliiffiieedd
ffoorr aaddmmiissssiioonnaa nndd aarree nnoott ccaappaabblleeoo ff ddooiinngg tthhee wwoorrkk aatt
nneesssseeee,, MMaarryyllaanndd,,LL oouuiissiiaannaa,, PPeennnnssyyllvvaanniiaa,, aanndd CCoonnnneeccttii--
tthheessee sseelleeccttiivvee pprriivvaatteeii nnssttiittuuttiioonnssAA.. llssoo,, tthhee rreeppoorrttcc iitteess
ccuutt,, tthhee rraacciiaall SSAATT ggaapp eexxppaannddeedd bbyy 2200 ppooiinnttss oorr mmoorree.. IInn ddaattaatt oo sshhooww tthhaatttt hheessee sscchhoooollss aarreenn oott ""lloowweerriinnggtt hhee bbaarr""
CCaalliiffoorrnniiaa,,II lllliinnooiiss,, aanndd MMaassssaacchhuusseettttss,,tt hhee bbllaacckk--wwhhiitteeSS AATT oorr rreedduucciinnggss ttaannddaarrddiissnn oorrddeerrtt oo aaddmmiittbb llaacckkss ttuuddeennttss..
ggaapp eexxppaannddeeddbb yy 1155 ppooiinnttss oorr mmoorree.. TThhee aauutthhoorrsscc oonntteennddtt hhaatt tthheeiirr ssttaattiissttiiccssss hhooww tthhaatt aallll
mmiinnoorriittyyaa pppplliiccaannttssttoo tthheessee sscchhoooollssmm eeeett aa mmiinniimmuummaa ccaa--
BBlleeaakk FFuuttuurree ffoorr BBllaacckk SSttuuddeennttss iinn IInnnneerr--CCiittyy SScchhoooollss ddeemmiicc ssttaannddaarrddtthh aattaa pppplliieesstt oo aallll ssttuuddeennttssaa ddmmiitttteeddtt oo tthhee
ccoolllleeggee oorr uunniivveerrssiittyy..
CClleeaarrllyy,,tt hhee nnaattiioonnwwiiddee ssttaaggnnaattiioonnii nn cclloossiinngg tthhee rraacciiaall SSAATT
TThhee ssttuuddyyff iirrssttdd eevveellooppeeddmm iinniimmuummaa ccaaddeemmiiccss ttaannddaarrddss
ggaapp iiss ccaauussee ffoorr ggrreeaatt ccoonncceerrnn.. BBuutt ooff eevveenn ggrreeaatteerrcc oonncceerrnn ffoorr aallll wwhhiitteenn oonn--aaffffiirrmmaattiivvaaeecc ttiioonnaa ddmmiittss..TT hhee ssttuuddyytt hheenn
iiss tthhee ffaacctt tthhaatt iinn ssoommee ooff oouurr mmoosstt ppooppuulloouuss ssttaatteess ssuucchh aass ddeetteerrmmiinneeddtthh aattaa llmmoossttaa llll ooff tthhee bbllaacckkaa nndd ootthheerrmm iinnoorriittyy
MMaarryyllaannddaa nndd PPeennnnssyyllvvaanniiaa,, ssttaatteess wwiitthh aa llaarrggee nnuummbbeerr ooff ssttuuddeennttssww hhoo wweerree aaddmmiitttteeddhh aadd aaccaaddeemmiiccqq uuaalliiffiiccaattiioonnss
bbllaacckk ssttuuddeennttss iinn iinnnneerr--cciittyy sscchhoooollss,, tthhee SSAATT ggaapp iiss aaccttuuaall-- eeqquuaall oorr ssuuppeerriioorrtt oo tthhee lloowweesstt qquuaalliiffiieeddww hhiittee aapppplliiccaanntt..
llyy ggrroowwiinngg aatt aa rraattee ssiiggnniiffiiccaannttllyy hhiigghheerr tthhaann tthhee nnaattiioonnaall AAlltthhoouugghhtt hhee aavveerraaggeebb llaacckk aaddmmiittmm iigghhtt hhaavvee hhaadd lloowweerr
hhiigghh sscchhooooll ggrraaddeessaa nnddSS AATTss ccoorreesstt hhaanntt hhee aavveerraaggeeww hhiittee
aavveerraaggee.. IInn tthheessee ppaarrttiiccuullaarrss ttaatteess iitt iiss eevviiddeenntt tthhaatt tthhoouu--
ssttuuddeenntt,,aa llll bbllaacckk ssttuuddeennttssmm eett tthhee mmiinniimmuummaa ccaaddeemmiicc
ssaannddss ooff iinnnneerr--cciittyy bbllaacckk ssttuuddeennttss aarree nnoott bbeeiinngg ttaauugghhtt tthhee ssttaannddaarrddrrssee qquuiirreeddffoo rr wwhhiitteess..
bbaassiicc sskkiillllss nneeeeddeedd iinn oorrddeerr ttoo ccoommppeettee ffoorr ccoolllleeggee aaddmmiiss-- TThhee aauutthhoorrsscc oonntteennddtt hhaattww iitthhoouuttaa ffffiirrmmaattiivveeaa ccttiioonnNN eeww
ssiioonn.. UUnnlleessss tthhiiss ttrreenndd ccaann bbee rreevveerrsseedd,, aa wwhhoollee ggeenneerraattiioonn EEnnggllaannddcc oolllleeggeess wwoouulldd nnoott bbee aabbllee ttoo aacchhiieevvee aa ssiiggnniiffii--
ooff bbllaacckk yyoouutthh ffrroomm iinnnneerr--cciittyyss cchhooooll ddiissttrriiccttssii nn oouurr llaarrggeesstt ccaanntt lleevveell ooff rraacciiaalldd iivveerrssiittyyTT.. hhee ssttuuddyy nnootteess tthhaatt bbllaacckkss
ssttaatteess wwiillll bbee ddoooommeedd ttoo tthhee hhuuggee ddiissaaddvvaannttaaggeess aallmmoosstt aanndd HHiissppaanniiccssmm aakkee uupp 1199 ppeerrcceennttoo ff tthhee 1188-- ttoo 2244--yyeeaarr--
aallwwaayyss ssuussttaaiinneedd bbyy tthhoossee wwhhoo ddoo nnoott hhaavvee aa ccoolllleeggee eedduu-- oolldd ppooppuullaattiioonniinn NNeeww EEnnggllaannddbb uutt oonnllyy 1100 ppeerrcceennttoo ff tthhee
ccoolllleeggee eennrroollllmmeennttssiinn tthhee ssiixx--ssttaatteerr eeggiioonn..
ccaattiioonn.. IIJJBBHHEEII
SSUUMMMMEERR 22000022 111199
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