Image Source: New York Times
July 9, 2024 Story by: Editor
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Over 70 years after the nationwide end of school segregation, data shows that racial disparities persist in Mississippi’s public education system.
Mississippi has historically struggled with racial issues, and school desegregation wasn’t enforced in the state until 1970, 16 years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. As of 2024, 30 school districts in Mississippi remain under desegregation orders. The U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Civil Rights Data Collection highlights further discrepancies in academic achievement among the state’s students.
Data from 2020-2021 reveals that African Americans constitute 48.5% of the state’s public school students, while white students account for 43%. However, African Americans represent 58.1% of all students who repeat grades statewide, compared to 34.2% for white students.
Both locally and nationally, African Americans are disproportionately held back in school. Here are the numbers for public school districts in Jackson:
Clinton Public School District
- Black student population: 55%
- Percentage of students repeating grades who are Black: 70.2%
- Overall students repeating a grade: 2%
Copiah County School District
- Black student population: 56.8%
- Percentage of students repeating grades who are Black: 68.1%
- Overall students repeating a grade: 4%
Hinds County School District
- Black student population: 88.2%
- Percentage of students repeating grades who are Black: 82.4%
- Overall students repeating a grade: 3%
Jackson Public School District
- Black student population: 95%
- Percentage of students repeating grades who are Black: 94.5%
- Overall students repeating a grade: 4%
Madison County School District
- Black student population: 40.5%
- Percentage of students repeating grades who are Black: 55.5%
- Overall students repeating a grade: 4%
Rankin County School District
- Black student population: 24.8%
- Percentage of students repeating grades who are Black: 31.6%
- Overall students repeating a grade: 2%
Simpson County School District
- Black student population: 49.5%
- Percentage of students repeating grades who are Black: 54.2%
- Overall students repeating a grade: 2%
Statewide Data:
Mississippi
- Black student population: 48.5%
- Percentage of students repeating grades who are Black: 58.1%
- Overall students repeating a grade: 4%
United States
- Black student population: 15%
- Percentage of students repeating grades who are Black: 27.9%
- Overall students repeating a grade: 2%
The grade retention rate in Mississippi and three school districts in the Jackson metro area is double the national average. However, the ratio of Black students enrolled in a public school district to the district’s grade retention rate is lower in Mississippi and all school districts in the metro compared to the national average. Source: WJTV
