States with a small number of African American students tend to have higher high school  graduation rates for Black males than those with large African American student enrollment, according to a report recently released by the Schott Foundation for Public Education.

The report, entitled "Given Half a Chance: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education for Black Males," based on 2005-06 graduation rate data, indicates that, with only a total enrollment of 796 Black male students, North Dakota graduated 89 percent of its Black male students. Similarly, Vermont graduated 88 percent. Michigan had the lowest rate with “barely a third of its Black male students” graduating with their peers, researchers say.

The overall national graduation rate for 2005-06 for Black male students was just 47 percent. Of the 10 most successful large school districts that graduate Black male students, Fort Bend, Texas, scored at the top with a graduation rate of 82 percent. Meanwhile, the lowest performing large school district was Indianapolis, Indiana, with only 19 percent of Black males graduating with their peers.

The report points out that this research “substantiates that graduation and achievement gaps reflect the differences in the quality of the opportunities available, not differences in students' ability.” Officials also note that one of the goals of the report is to highlight the fact that some students are not given an equal opportunity to learn.

“The primary objective is to highlight that, in America, there is a huge disparity between the education and resources that are offered to Black males and those that are offered to White males,” says Dr. John H. Jackson, president and CEO of the Schott Foundation, who adds that the report includes data gathered from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and Office for Civil Rights, state departments of education, and local school districts.