How Well Does Your Public University Treat Black Students? New Effort Assigns Grades, State by State

Black public-university students in two states with the highest percentage of African-American residents are among the most disadvantaged nationwide, according to a new report that grades both public universities and states on how well they attract and graduate black students.

Louisiana earned the lowest rating in the report, published on Tuesday by the University of Southern California, despite having the second-highest percentage of black residents. Mississippi, the state with the largest share of its population identifying as African-American, was ranked fourth-lowest on how inclusive its public universities are.