Comparison of GPA and ACT Reading and Math Scores for African American Males in Afrocentric versus Mainstream High Schools

In the United States, the academic achievement of African American males is not at the same level as their peers from other ethnic backgrounds. There are negative social and financial implications for African American males who do not experience positive educational outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative study, based on critical race theory, was to compare the effectiveness of traditional high school education and Afrocentric high school education on the educational outcomes of African American males. Three measures of educational outcomes were examined: GPA at graduation, ACT reading score, and ACT math scores. The participants were 143 African American males, between the ages of 18 and 25, who had graduated from high school and taken the ACT. The participants were recruited from Facebook; all completed an online questionnaire. Since exploratory data analyses violated normality, the results should be reviewed with the understanding that they did not meet the assumption of multivariant normality. Based on the results of a MANOVA and multiple ANOVAs, there was no difference in (a) ACT math and reading scores and (b) graduating GPAs between African American males who received an Afrocentric high school education (n = 73) and those who received a traditional high school education (n = 70). The completion of this research extended the knowledge in the literature regarding comparisons that may be made between Afrocentric education and traditional education, in relation to the performance on ACTs and GPA scores. African Americans may benefit from the results of this study by increasing awareness and understanding of the role Afrocentric education plays in educational outcomes