WBRZ - Baton Rouge

It would take 50 years to close the achievement gap between Black and White males in America. That's according to new study by the Schott Foundation for Public Education, a group out of Massachusetts.

The report shows that the graduation rate among American Black males is 52 percent, while 78 percent for White males. In Louisiana the landscape is much worse. The graduation rate for Black males is 49 percent, while 63 percent for White males.

Experts say that out-of-school suspensions are impacting graduation rates in Louisiana and across the country. And that major reform would have to occur, in order to speed up the clock of the achievement gap.