WASHINGTON — The high school completion rate for Blacks between the ages of 25 and 29 rose to nearly 87 percent last year, reaching about the same level as whites for the first time.
That education level for all adults 25 and older reached nearly 82 percent — the highest since it was first measured by the bureau in 1947, a Census report said.
“This is a very profound change in one of the country’s long-running, deep-seated problems — the disparity between whites and Blacks in education,” said Michael Casserly, director of the Council of the Great City Schools, which represents the nation’s 50 largest urban school districts.
He said he is not surprised by the finding because his group has seen evidence of this trend at the local level. The gap has narrowed because schools, particularly in urban areas, have done more to keep students in school, have tailored programs for students who are faced with having to drop out and work, or leave school because of pregnancy.
