African American pupils are far less likely to take college prep classes and more likely to miss school because of suspensions

African American public school students in Los Angeles County demonstrate significant learning gaps by second grade; those gaps widen with age and lead to the highest school dropout rate among all races, according to a new report. Black students are far less likely to take the rigorous college preparatory classes required for admission to California universities and miss more school days because of suspensions than their white counterparts, according to the study by The Education Trust-West, an Oakland-based nonprofit advocacy group. Only one of every 20 African American kindergartners will graduate from a four-year California university if current trends continue, according to the report, which compiled data on academic achievement, suspensions and the psychological conditions of 135,000 black students in 81 public school districts in L.A. County. African American toddlers are less likely than their white peers to have books at home or be read to everyday. In addition, only 13% of black children attend preschools with teachers who have degrees in early childhood education, compared to about 41% for whites and Asians.