For the past century, black students have consistently lagged behind white students in academic achievement

Despite national and statewide efforts, the achievement gap between white and black students in public schools has actually widened at some grade levels in reading and math in places such as Oklahoma. A higher percentage of black students live in poverty, which is one of the strongest indicators of academic performance. Black students are also more likely to come from single-parent households, have grandparents as guardians, be in foster care, have undereducated parents, be affected by crime and attend historically under-performing schools. Between 1990 and 2010 scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress show that nationally, the gap has remained stagnant, despite aggressive laws, drastic interventions and in some cases great monetary investments. In 2009, for example, the average score of black Oklahoma fourth-graders on the reading exam was 26 points lower than that of white students. In 1992 they scored an average of 22 points lower.