Research & Studies

In an analysis of 11 years of data on New York City Public Schools, researchers found high levels of teacher turnover led to increased likelihood for office disciplinary referrals and suspensions for all students. Black students were the most likely group to receive disciplinary action when their teachers left mid-year.

According to a new study led by Brendesha Tynes of the University of Southern California, Black adolescents average six race-related online experiences per day, with 3.2 considered online racism. Those who do encounter online racism are more likely to experience next-day anxiety and depression.

The share of students living in predominantly Black school districts who are attending non-traditional public schools, such as homeschooling options or private schools, is far outpacing that of students in predominantly Hispanic and predominantly White districts. This raises concerns for Black districts' funding opportunities, as many state and federal aid is granted on a per-pupil basis.

According to a new report from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, Black PAs are less than four percent of all PAs working in primary care. Only three out of the top 25 PA specialties have a PA workforce that is at least 5 percent Black.

According to the authors, California has two racially identifiable advantaged groups, White and Asian students, who are less likely to be enrolled in schools of concentrated poverty than their Black, Latinx, and American Indian peers.

Due to the 2023 Supreme Court ruling banning the consideration of race in college admission decisions, the huge racial gap in scores on the SAT test will undoubtedly contribute to smaller numbers of Black students at the nation's most selective colleges and universities.

Even when they report feeling supported at school, Black boys from low-income communities still report higher levels of depression than their peers, according to a new study from Adrian Gale of Rutgers University.

According to a nationally representative analysis of women experiencing infertility between 2013 and 2020, there are major racial disparities in birth outcomes following treatment, with just 3 percent of Black women experiencing a successful live birth after receiving fertility treatment, compared to 17 percent of Asian women and 13 percent of White women.

In 2022 poverty rate rate was the lowest on record for Black Americans at 17.1 percent. In 2023, the poverty rate for African Americans rose to 17.9 percent. In 2024, 18.4 percent of Black Americans were poor.

From fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2022, federal research funding to HBCUs increased from 0.9 percent to 1.5 percent of the total federal research funding granted to colleges and universities. Funding increased the most from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Science Foundation.

“My mathematical findings show that even if we hypothetically lived in a seemingly utopian world where everyone was starting off on equal footing and there were colorblind policies, minorities would still face disadvantages in social and economic opportunities over time because of social network dynamics arising from their group size being smaller,” said Chika Okafor of Northwestern University.

In 2024, the median Black household income was 60.5 percent of the median income of non-Hispanic White families. In 2023, the income gap was 63.4 percent. In 2022, the figure was 65.2 percent.

Using brain-imaging technology, a team of researchers led by Columbia University has found that in split-second decisions, racial stereotypes can prompt people to mistake everyday objects as weapons.

Chronic health conditions are the leading causes of death for adults in the United States. However, the specific conditions contributing to mortality differed by race and ethnicity, according to a new study led by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine. For Black adults, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and dementia were found to be the leading causes of mortality among older adults.

Nearly 30 percent of all Black Americans over age 25 held at least a bachelor's degree in 2024, compared to over 38 percent of White American adults. The gap in graduate degree attainment is much smaller, with 9 percent of Black adults and 11 percent of White adults holding a master's degree as their highest level of education.

For students in the high school graduating class of 2024, 55.0 percent of graduates of schools with greater shares of nonwhite students immediately enrolled in college in the fall 2024 semester, compared to 62.7 percent of their peers at low-minority schools.

“Almost daily, since January 20, 2025, the federal government, at the direction the White House, has set fire to policies and entire departments dedicated to protecting civil and human rights, providing access to an equal education, fair housing, safe and effective healthcare, and ensuring that our democratic process is adhered to across the nation,” the report authors write.

In a new report from the University of Southern California, scholars have found 61 percent of Black student affairs professionals at U.S. colleges and universities have experienced racism on campus, the majority of which was driven by White students, faculty, and staff, as well as external work contacts.

According to a new study, school finance reforms that were designed to close spending gaps between high and low-income school districts increased spending disparities between districts with low and high percentages of Black and Hispanic students.

Since 1979, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has periodically interviewed individuals born between 1957 and 1964 - the latter years of the baby boomer generation. Their latest data, collected in 2022 and 2023, documents this birth cohort's experiences in labor force participation from ages 18 to 58.