Educators have worried over the achievement gap between white and black students in primary and secondary school for many years. The latest report prepared by The Greater Louisville Project focused on how it plays out in post-secondary school.
In fact, it gets worse. The college-attainment rate among African-Americans is lower in Louisville than among any of its peer cities, although all of the cities have similar gaps in education attainment among racial groups – and some of the gaps are even wider than Louisville’s.
The finding that only 13% of African-Americans in Louisville Metro holds a Bachelor’s Degree or higher has garnered considerable attention among community leaders in western Louisville and will be a topic at the Urban League’s annual education summit on Saturday, Feb. 20.
The study also found that a lower percentage of black residents who go to post-secondary school graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree – only 28%, compared to 52% of whites. That means a larger percentage ends up with an Associates Degree, which is a solid career credential, or with some credits but no degree. A third of African-American residents in Louisville Metro are in that category.
For both white and black students, the data shows that Louisville’s greatest challenge may lie in helping students who enter college stay and finish: Louisville ranked fourth from the bottom among its peer cities in the percentage of all those who enter postsecondary school and graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher.