In 2004, black 9-year-olds trailed their white peers in reading by roughly the same amount that they had twenty-five years earlier.2 Black 17-year-olds scored at the same level in reading and math as white 13-year-olds. And white 13-year-olds outperformed black 17-year-olds in science. In five out of seven categories—math, science, history, physics, and geography—a majority of blacks scored at the lowest level.3
