M o n I c a G r I c e
Graduation rates in America: what’s restricting students of color
By: Monica Grice
Research from the National Center for Education Statistics shows the number of bachelor's degrees earned by white students in 2014 was 1,218,792. In the same year, black students received 191,298 degrees. Latinos earned 202,412.
However, the number of bachelor’s degrees earned by black students has more than doubled since 1976. Asian and Pacific Islander students have earned nine times as many bachelor's degrees, and Hispanics earned 10 times the amount in 2014 compared to 1976.
In the same time frame, from 1976 to 2014, the number of white students has barely doubled.
Many factors affect the graduation rates of college students. Especially the rates of lower income, non-white students.
Government's Calculations
“The way the federal government measures graduation rates is fundamentally flawed,” said Tom Allison.
Allison is the deputy policy and research director for the Young Invincibles. The organization was founded by a group of friends in Washington, D.C. who wanted to give a voice to young people on issues like healthcare, jobs and education.
He explained that the federal government only measures first-time, full-time students. Part-time students and transfer students don’t get evaluated.
Research from the Young Invincibles shows that Latino students choose two-year institutions, like community colleges, more than four-year institutions.
Allison said community colleges are equally important, educationally, as four-year colleges. More times than not, Latino students graduating from high school will enroll in two-year institutions first, then transfer.
He said even if the government measured rates differently, like including part-time and transfer students, the graduation rates wouldn’t change much.
Andrew Nichols, director of higher education research at The Education Trust, said overall, the graduation rates would be worse.
“Part-time goes at a slower pace,” said Nichols. “They’re going to time out and lower the rate.”
Transfers are tricky to calculate, that’s why it’s rarely calculated.
Nichols said a transfer student could transfer after two years, or one semester. This makes it difficult for the government to segregate into different data.
K-12 System
Allison said since students, on average, take longer than four years to finish college, the government focuses on six-year graduation rates.
He said K-12 students of color have less experienced teachers who give less preparation for college. Less preparation leads to lack of knowledge of good colleges.
Nichols said some colleges have a system that can track your educational trail to the beginning of high school.
Georgia State University is one of those schools.
“Georgia State has a formula to identify students who are at risk for dropping out or not completing,” said Nichols.
The university has access to a student’s GPA, transcript and test scores from high school and other colleges.
Nichols said since some colleges base a student’s acceptance on this formula, it can lead students to take out more loans. Especially students of color who come from lower income families.
“They (institutions) need to have this idea that all students can complete at the same time, at the same rate,” said Nichols.
He said the first objective, is engaging students in interesting, educational high school courses.
Non-white students have less access to advanced placement courses in high school. Nichols said if teachers can find a way to provide students with those courses, it can have a great impact on their college life.
Allison and Nichols both said high schools should offer counseling services that help plan semesters, maybe years in college and then consistently follow-up with the student.
Income
Data from the Young Invincibles shows African American families are 26 percent more likely to take out student loans than white students.
In the same data, a black student’s grant repayment will take up to 48 percent of their income. Even though students of color are more likely to receive Pell grants, their debt to income ratio will be higher.
"It was just kind of expected that I was going to college," said Trinh Dao.
Dao said she has a huge amount of debt but her education is worth it.
Dao, Vietnamese, attended University of Texas at San Antonio for a couple years before transferring to University of Houston. From there, she received a Bachelor of Science in health with a minor in psychology.
A few months later, she enrolled in Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. She will be graduating in May 2017 with a degree in nursing.
Data from the College Scorecard shows Asians are among the highest graduation rates at Ivy League schools. Asians have a 96.4 percent completion rate at University of Pennsylvania and 98 percent at Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale.
Pablo Diaz, a former Texas A&M University student, made the choice to withdraw from college when he was a junior, and help his family’s income.
“I found out my mom had cancer and decided I needed to be there,” said Diaz.
The 24-year-old from San Lorenzo, Zacatecas in Mexico, majored in finance and marketing. Since his two younger sisters were still in high school, he decided to financially help his mom and dad.
He got a job in construction, it paid well. Once his mom’s cancer cleared up, he decided not to go back to A&M.
Diaz said it’s an unspoken rule that whites are expected to go to college, but it’s harder for Latinos.
He said that Latino families depend on each other and he couldn’t leave his family in financial hardship after his mom’s medical bills.
Research from the Young Invincibles says Latino families will spend between 22 and 27 percent of their income on college. This is a large amount considering the average Latino family makes $27,510 annually, 42 percent of what white families make.
Nichols says income plays into the K-12 system. Students of color are more likely to come from lower income families, and are more likely to attend a school with less resources for college, and where curriculum is not advanced.
Allison said that the government has kept research on graduation rates the same since the 70s, so it's likely they won't change it. This means research won't include part-time and transfer students unless research is specifically done for that.
He also said the income discrepancy between students of color and white students, is something that can't be easily changed with the current economy.
Therefore, according to Allison and Nichols, the best way to begin raising graduation rates for students of color, is to start with the K-12 system.
They both agree if students of color are educated on the proper college to attend, it will grow their chances at going to an institution that has a good retention rate, and can provide the resources they need.