Our calculation of high school graduation rates demonstrates that the public school system is not only losing 30% of all its students before graduation, it also loses disproportionately more black and Hispanic students than white and Asian students.
Based on the overall findings of our study, we conclude that by far the most important reason black and Hispanic students are underrepresented in college is the failure of the K-12 education system to prepare them for college, rather than insufficient financial aid or inadequate affirmative action policies