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‘WE DON’T ALL LOOK ALIKE’

The Academic Performance of Black Student Populations at Elite Colleges1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 December 2014

W. Carson Byrd ,
Rachelle J. Brunn-Bevel  and
Parker R. Sexton
W. Carson Byrd*
Affiliation:
Department of Pan-African Studies, University of Louisville
Rachelle J. Brunn-Bevel
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Fairfield University
Parker R. Sexton
Affiliation:
Mathematica Policy Research
*
*Corresponding author: W. Carson Byrd, University of Louisville, Department of Pan-African Studies, Strickler Hall, Room 438, Louisville, KY 40292; email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The examination of student group performance is a constant need as American higher education continues to expand and become more racially and ethnically diverse. Recent scholarship on the academic performance of Black students at elite colleges and universities has glossed over possible disparities among these students, particularly among different immigrant groups. The current study clarifies these differences in academic performance by examining four Black student groups at elite colleges and universities in the United States: native Blacks, Black immigrants from Africa, Black immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America, and Black immigrants from other parts of the globe. The analyses point to many similarities and differences among the four Black student groups in their characteristics and influences on their academic performance in college such as gender, precollege friendships, high school academic preparation, college major, and closeness to Whites and Blacks. Additionally, this study found evidence of possible colorism among Black students at elite colleges.

Keywords

Academic PerformanceCollegeImmigrant StudentsBlack StudentsColorism
Type
State of the Art
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , Fall 2014 , pp. 353 - 385
Copyright
Copyright © Hutchins Center for African and African American Research 2014 

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