EdTrust-West, an educational consulting company dedicated to dismantling racial and economic barriers in California, has recently released a new report, “Black Minds Matter 2025,” which documents the current state of education for Black Californians.
According to their report, the authors found that over three-quarters of Black 4-year-olds in California come from a socioeconomically disadvantaged family. In the 2020-2021 academic year, 43 percent of eligible Black four-year-olds were enrolled in transitional kindergarten (TK) schools. By 2023-2024, their share only increased by 5 percentage points, and remains below the overall share (60 percent) of all eligible 4-year-olds enrolled in Californian TK schools.
Nearly one-third (32 percent) of Black TK-12 students were chronically absent in 2023-2024, meaning they were absent for 10 percent or more of the school year. This is a significant increase from the 2016-2017 academic year, when 19 percent of Black TK-12 students were chronically absent. Black, Native American, and Pacific Islander students are significantly more likely than students from other racial groups to be chronically absent.
Black TK-12 students were found to face significantly higher rates of bullying and are disproportionately punished compared to their peers. Nearly half (46 percent) of Black students reported experiencing racism while in school and almost a quarter (23 percent) have been bullied because of their race. Furthermore, Black students in California have been consistently suspended at a rate more than the double the statewide average and three times the rate of White students.
In addition to opportunity gaps among Black students, the authors also revealed racial disparities in California’s teaching workforce. Almost three-quarters of school districts in the state have too few Black teachers to reflect their community’s share of Black students. Additionally, over one-fifth of Black students attend schools with a high percentage of novice teachers.
Across elementary, middle, and high school students in California, the academic performance of Black students trails behind their peers of other racial backgrounds. Only 3 in 10 Black students are supported to meet grade-level English language arts standards. Black students are even less supported to meet grade-level math standards. Among third grade students, 27 percent of Black students meet or exceed their math standards. By eleventh grade, only 13 percent of Black students meet math standards.
These educational disparities have led to lower graduation rates and higher dropout rates for Black students compared to White students. In the 2023-2024 academic year, 78 percent of Black students graduated high school, compared to 89 percent of White students and 86 percent of all Californians. Black high school students are nearly twice as likely as their White classmates to dropout.
Continuing the trend, the authors identified several barriers facing Black students access to and persistence in higher education. Fewer than half of Black high schoolers are supported to complete the A-G course sequence, a requirement to be eligible to attend the University of California and California State University systems. This has remained virtually unchanged over the past decade. Black students are also significantly less likely than other groups to complete dual enrollment coursework, putting them at a disadvantage when applying to college. In the 2014-2015 academic year, 62 percent of Black students planned on attending college after high school. By 2021-2022, this statistic dropped to 55 percent.
The high costs associated with attending Californian colleges and universities has also limited Black students ability to pursue higher education. Fewer than half of Black high school seniors are supported to apply for financial aid. Among Black students who do matriculate into college, 78 percent experience food insecurity and 65 percent experience housing insecurity.
While 5.5 percent of California residents are Black, only 2 percent of students attending the UC system and 4 percent of those attending the CSU system are Black. In comparison, Black students represent 6 percent of the student population at California community colleges, 8 percent of private nonprofit institutions, and 14 percent of private for-profit institutions.
As a result of these disparities, only a third of Black Californians hold a bachelor’s degree. Among those who have graduated from college, Black undergraduates have significantly more student loan debt, on average, compared to other Californians.
