> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
News
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

For Native Students, a Deepening Divide

By  Kelly Field
July 26, 2016

The achievement gap between Native American students and their peers starts young, and persists through college. On nearly every measure of student success, from test scores to college completion, Native students have stagnated, and in some cases are falling further behind.

Test Scores

From elementary through high school, Native students are more likely than white students to score “below basic” on the math and reading portions of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and less likely to score “at or above proficient.”

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

The achievement gap between Native American students and their peers starts young, and persists through college. On nearly every measure of student success, from test scores to college completion, Native students have stagnated, and in some cases are falling further behind.

Test Scores

From elementary through high school, Native students are more likely than white students to score “below basic” on the math and reading portions of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and less likely to score “at or above proficient.”

ADVERTISEMENT

National On-Time Graduation Rate

Native students — a group that includes American Indians and Alaska Natives — have the lowest on-time graduation rate of any racial subgroup, at 70 percent.

Montana’s On-Time Graduation Rate

In Montana, where 11 percent of students are American Indian, just 65 percent of Native students graduate on time, compared with 88 percent of white students.

Status Dropout Rate

In 2014, more than 11 percent of Native students between the ages of 16 and 24 were not enrolled in college and did not have a high-school diploma — a status dropout rate of 11 percent, nearly double the national average.

ADVERTISEMENT

College Enrollment

In 2014, only a quarter of Native students between the ages of 18 and 24 were enrolled in a degree-granting postsecondary institution — the lowest rate of any racial subgroup.

College Completion

Native students graduate college at roughly the same rate as black students. Just under a quarter of first-time, full-time students who started at four-year institutions in 2008 graduated on time. Six years in, 41 percent of those Native students had graduated.

ADVERTISEMENT

College Attainment

Over the past decade, the share of 25- to 29-year olds with bachelor’s degrees or higher increased for all racial and ethnic groups except for American Indians and Alaska Natives. At the same time, the divide between white students and their minority peers deepened — nowhere so sharply as between white students and Native students, where the gap in bachelor’s attainment grew almost 10 percentage points.

That same pattern could be seen for individuals with an associate degree or higher, where the gap between whites and Native Americans grew by 12 percentage points

A version of this article appeared in the August 5, 2016, issue.
Read other items in this From the Reservation to College package.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Kelly Field
Kelly Field joined The Chronicle of Higher Education in 2004 and covered federal higher-education policy. She continues to write for The Chronicle on a freelance basis.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

  • For Native Students, Education’s Promise Has Long Been Broken
  • Leaving the Reservation
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin