Research Digest

Research Digest III, A Decade of Disparities: Examining National Educational Outcomes for Male Racial Subgroups (will release updated version, check back soon)

Authors: Luis Ponjuán, Ph.D., M. Alexander Lester, & Susana Hernández, Ph.D.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges to the American educational system. Unfortunately, marginalized communities, especially male students of color, have been adversely affected by this pandemic. This report provides current national level educational data, disaggregated by race and gender, that provides critical insights about the plight of male students of color over a decade from 2010 to 2020. This research digest highlights the disparities in educational outcomes over a decade for male students of color. We identified several key findings to illustrate how male students of color overcome barriers throughout their educational pathways.

This research digest highlights the power of disaggregated educational data because it provides a nuanced look at educational attainment rates for male racial subgroups. We also assert that exploring this issue should not be explained using a deficit-based narrative that suggests these disparities of educational outcomes are solely based on individual based characteristics (e.g. lack of motivation). This research digest concludes with our recommendations for ten action steps over the next decade that compels school districts, community colleges, bachelor’s degree granting institutions, communities, and educational policy leaders to address this national challenge during the pandemic and beyond.

Research Digest II,  Following African American Male 8th Graders through College: A Digest of Longitudinal Enrollment and Graduation Patterns in Texas.

Authors: Victor B. Sáenz, Ph.D., Jorge M. Burmicky, Wonsun Ryu, & Veronica Jones, Ph.D.

Our Project MALES Research Digest is the second in a series that explores the Texas eighth grade cohort data to look critically at longitudinal enrollment and completion patterns. This Digest has a special focus on African American males. The data contained within this report stem from an effort by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to document educational outcomes for every student who started eighth grade in a Texas public school during the fiscal years 1998 through 2006. Students were tracked over an 11-year period to determine the percentage of Texas’ eighth grade students who eventually achieved any postsecondary certificate or degree from a Texas college or university, or who may still be enrolled in a Texas two-year or four-year institution (Murphy & Daniel, n.d.). In partnership with THECB, we examine these enrollment and completion trends by Educational Service Center (ESC) region as well as by county-level. The ESC and county-specific data is representative of the member institutions within the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color.

Research Digest I, Following Hispanic Male 8th Graders through College: A Digest of Longitudinal Enrollment and Graduation Patterns in Texas

Authors: Victor B. Sáenz, Ph.D., Wonsun Ryu, & Jorge M. Burmicky.