A new survey from the National School Boards Association finds that, as expected, black parents have a very low opinion of the education offered their children in urban public schools. The research also shows that many African-American adults have bought into the stereotype that black children are incapable of competing with white children.

Over the years this journal has published a host of commentary and research on the significant black progress in higher education. But for millions of young blacks, the prospects for a college education are not good. The latest data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that less than one third of all African Americans ages 18 to 24 are currently enrolled in college or graduate school. For whites, more than 40 percent of the population in this age group are enrolled in college or graduate school.

One of the major factors explaining the low participation rate for African Americans in higher education is that the secondary schools they attend are doing a woefully pitiful job of preparing black students for college. In many cases, the schools are prone to violence and present an overall environment that damages learning. When one’s personal safety is in question, it is difficult to concentrate on academic matters. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of black students in the nation’s public schools must constantly look over their own shoulders rather than look down at their textbooks or up  at their teachers at the front of the classroom.

School Is Not a Very Safe Place

A new study from the National School Boards Association throws more light on the subject. The study, entitled What We Think: Parental Perceptions of Urban School Climate, provides specific data showing that for secondary school students, school is a very unsafe place and a place where learning often takes a back seat to other considerations. These urban high schools tend to be predominantly black. Of the more than 10,000 parents who responded to the National School Boards Association’s survey, more than 41 percent were black.

Here are some of the findings from this extensive survey of parents with children who attend public schools in our major cities.

• Only two-thirds of black parents believe the school their children attend “is a safe place.” Nearly 85 percent of white parents in urban schools believe that their child’s school is safe.
• Only 38 percent of black parents disagree with the statement, “Students at my child’s school fight a lot.” More than 54 percent of white parents believe there was little fighting at their child’s school.
• Some 15.5 percent of black parents said that some students at their child’s school carried guns or knives, and 40 percent said they were not sure if students were carrying these weapons. Only 6 percent of white parents said students at their child’s school are carrying guns or knives.
• About one-quarter of all black parents believe that their child is bullied at least once a month or were not sure if their child is being bullied. White parents are slightly less likely to think their child is being bullied.

Black Parents’ Perceptions of Urban Schoolteachers

In addition to safety issues the survey revealed a number of racial differences in parents’ perceptions of the school their children attend. More than 15 percent of black parents said they did not feel welcome when visiting their child’s school. This is nearly double the rate of white parents.

More than 7 percent of black parents said the teachers at the school were not fair to their children. This was triple the rate for white parents.

Nearly 8 percent of black parents said that the teachers at the school do not care if their child was successful. This was nearly triple the rate of white parents.

Two thirds of black parents said that teachers at their school respect the students. For white parents, the figure was 85 percent.

One of the more startling findings in the survey is that a large group of black parents do not believe that their own children are capable of success in school. More than one of every six black parents agreed with the statement, “There are races of children who are smarter than others.” Some African-American adults believe that black children are smarter than white children. But it seems clear that many African-Americans adults have bought into the stereotype that black children are incapable of competing with white children.