Higher Education: Gaps in Access and Persistence Study

Figure 2.
(Figure 6-2) Percentage of students in low- and high-poverty public elementary and secondary schools, by
race/ethnicity and sex: School year 2010–11
Percent
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
24 24
33 33
9 9
Low-poverty schools
13 13
38 39 14 14
Total 1 White Black Hispanic Asian Pacific
Islander
11 11
American
Indian/
Alaska
Native
25 25
Two or
more
races
2020
6 6
42 41
High-poverty schools
38 38
15 14
19 19
31 31
16
15
Total 1 White Black Hispanic Asian Pacific American Two or
Islander Indian/
Alaska
Native
more
races
Executive Summary
Race/ethnicity
Male
Female
1
Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately in the figure.
NOTE: Low-poverty schools are those where 25 percent or fewer students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch; high-poverty schools are those where
more than 75 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “Public Elementary/Secondary School
Universe Survey,” 2010–11.
Alaska Native school. Other racial/ethnic patterns
include higher enrollment at high-poverty schools for
Black (41 percent), Hispanic (38 percent), and American
Indian/Alaska Native students (31 percent) than for
Pacific Islander (19 percent), two or more races
(16 percent), Asian (15 percent), and White students
(6 percent).
Adequate Yearly Progress and Special
Schools
In 2008–09, some 60 percent of public school students
attended a school that met adequate yearly progress
(AYP), an individual state’s measure toward achieving
state academic standards based on criteria contained in
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Reauthorization. No measurable differences in school
AYP status were found between males and females (overall
or by race/ethnicity). However, racial/ethnic differences
were observed. Higher percentages of Black (46 percent),
Hispanic (48 percent), Asian/Pacific Islander (40 percent),
and American Indian/Alaska Native students (40 percent)
than White students (33 percent) attended schools that
did not meet AYP. The percentage of students attending
schools that did not meet AYP was similar for males
and females (both overall and within each racial/ethnic
group), although it did vary by race/ethnicity.
In 2010–11, nearly all students (98 percent) in public
elementary and secondary schools in the United States
attended regular public schools, 1 percent attended
alternative schools, 1 and less than 1 percent each attended
special education schools and vocational education
schools. About 4 percent each of students attended charter
1
An alternative school is a public elementary/secondary school that (1) addresses
needs of students that typically cannot be met in a regular school, (2) provides
nontraditional education, (3) serves as an adjunct to a regular school, or (4) falls
outside the categories of regular, special education, or vocational education.
schools and magnet schools, most of which were also
classified as regular schools. At alternative schools ending
in grade 12, males enrolled at higher rates than females
did both overall and within each racial/ethnic group
studied.
High School Guidance Counseling
In 2009, about 48 percent of 9th-graders had high school
guidance counselors who reported that the counseling
program’s primary goal was to help students plan and
prepare for postsecondary education, and 35 percent had
counselors who reported that the primary goal was to
help students improve their achievement in high school.
No measurable differences were found between male and
female 9th-graders (overall or within racial/ethnic groups)
for either of the primary counseling goals. However, a
higher percentage of Asian 9th-graders (60 percent) than
Black (44 percent), Hispanic (41 percent), and American
Indian/Alaska Native 9th-graders (29 percent) had
counselors who reported that the primary counseling
program goal was helping students plan and prepare
for postsecondary education. Among male 9th-graders,
higher percentages of Asians (56 percent) and Whites
(51 percent) than Hispanics (38 percent) attended schools
in which the counseling program’s primary goal was
postsecondary planning and preparation.
Student Behaviors and Afterschool
Activities
Retention, Suspension, and Expulsion
According to parent reports, in 2009, some 13 percent
of 9th-grade students had been retained in any of grades
kindergarten through 9. In 2009, a higher percentage of
males than females had been retained in any grade. Also,
Executive Summary vii