Standardized tests measure affluence over ability, and males of all races have more behavior problems than their female counterparts due to delayed executive functioning development. The only reason this is a story is because we have so much standardized testing that we can now provide data to something that has most likely always been the case. Note, it doesn't say that black males cannot read. It says that black males are not proficient at reading. Go take a crack at the SBA practice test sometime and tell me a kid who is hungry and who is exposed to hard living circumstances can be rated as proficient, or even basic on that test. https://login4.cloud1.tds.airast.org/student/V111/Pages/LoginShell.aspx?c=SBAC_PT Fair warning, you won't get a grade at the end, so you just have to self-assess how awesome you are ... or aren't ... in preparation for the real test.