Black men fall behind

What looked like a good-news report on minorities in higher education was released Monday: The number of African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American students enrolled in college doubled during the past decade. Troubling news, however, is found deeper in the report by the American Council on Education. For African-American men, an alarming gender gap is widening:

• High school completion. During the past decade, the graduation rate for black women improved while the rate for men slipped. Currently, 56% of black women graduate from high school, compared with 43% of black men, according to the Urban Institute.

• College enrollment. From 2000 to 2001, the number of black men in higher education rose by 30,000. That's good news, but during the same period the number of black women in college rose by 73,000. Twice as many black women as black men now attend college.

• College degrees. From 2001 to 2002, the increase in the number of degrees — associates, bachelor's or master's — earned by black men was less than 3%. By contrast, the number of black women earning associate's degrees rose by 6.5%, bachelor's by 4.3% and master's by 4.5% [more]