 Dear reader,
With college graduation season upon us, let’s pause for a minute and examine a central theme in higher education, one The Hechinger Report has spent years exploring. Have we made inroads in the crucial gap between white and Black Americans seeking a college education?
Sadly, as Jon Marcus reports, the answer is not only no – the problem is getting worse.
Black college and university enrollment has been dropping steadily, down by 22 points between 2010 and 2020, or by more than 650,000 students, and another 7 percent since then, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The story follows our report last week about an overall lag in men headed to higher education, and comes at a time when both affirmative action and diversity and inclusion programs are under attack.
Meanwhile, our coverage of math education continues this week with a look inside a study that’s become one of the most influential attempts using experimental evidence to change how higher education operates, informing the debate on teaching remedial education at the start of a career. We also look at a debate over anti-bias instruction that unfolded in Alabama after the state’s early ed director was ousted over a teacher training manual that mentioned bias, privilege and racism. You can get all of these stories, along with our varied opinion pieces, by signing up for our weekly newsletters. Please share the link and let us know what you think.
Liz Willen, Editor
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Main Idea