The national average high school graduation rate for black males is 47%

A new national study says Illinois is near the bottom of the pack when it comes to the percentage of black male students who graduate from high school. The report by the Schott Foundation for Public Education ranks Illinois 43rd nationally. It was based on numbers in Chicago and Illinois for the 2005-2006 school year. That year, 37% of black male students graduated in Chicago. That's compared with 62% of white males who graduated. The national average graduation rate for black males is 47%. Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana ranked among the states with the greatest differences in graduation rates for black and white male students. North Dakota, Arizona and New Jersey had higher-than-average black male graduation rates.