The Progress Report Cards, Black-White and 1970-2020, are a feature of the Othering & Belonging Institute’s Racial Disparities Dashboard Project. These Report Cards allows users to track changes within the United States from 1970 to 2020 across 15 different important variables between Black and white Americans:
We find that some outcomes have improved greatly, both in absolute and relative terms, between racial groups, while other disparities remained stubbornly wide, or have even gotten worse. We can see, for instance, significant reductions in disparities in high school graduation rates, rates of health insurance coverage, and voting rates, even as disparities in homeownership rates, maternal mortality, and the racial wealth gap have gotten worse. A complete and nuanced portrait of race in American life requires an understanding and awareness of the range of these outcomes. As you click through each variable, you should be able to quickly see whether the disparity is improving or widening, as well as observe absolute progress (or regress) for each racial group.
Progress Grading Report Card:
The Progress Report Grade is based upon four components: the change in the absolute and relative magnitude of the disparity, and the absolute and relative progress toward closing the disparity. The direction and strength of these inputs determines the final grade (as explained and shown in the legend and summer table further below).
We decided to use a grading scale (A, B, C, ...) as the least confusing and most intuitive way to convey information about whether a key life outcome or disparity has improved or gotten worse over our selected time period. A decent grade does not denote that the situation is fine or acceptable. Rather, it is a grade of how America has performed from 1970 to 2020 on that particular variable, whether it has improved or gotten worse, not an evaluation of current performance. Thus, the C- grade for infant mortality should not be interpreted to mean that the current rates of Black infant mortality is a passing grade or even acceptable. Rather, it means that there has been a significant reduction in the overall absolute rate of Black infant deaths and the Black-white disparity since 1970. Alternatives to the letter grading scale were far less intuitive to reviewers prior to launching this project.
An important nuance which became more evident and dramatic in the development of this project is that determining whether a disparity widened or partially closed was not straightforward. As you may have noticed by clicking through some of the grades, disparity data is more complicated than it may superficially appear. In a few cases, such as median home values, the absolute value of the disparity grew or widened even though the disparity shrank in relative terms. But there is more to the story of progress than whether a disparity widened or closed. A disparity can grow wider even if the condition of the marginalized group improved. Conversely, a disparity can close or shrink because the condition of the non-marginalized group declined or got worse. Neither of those outcomes can be considered "progress" in the broadest sense. Therefore, we wanted our Progress Grading Report to account for both whether there was absolute progress for the racially marginalized group as well as the relative rates of progress. Progress has to account for the absolute performance or outcomes for groups, not just the disparities between them, and the relative rates of progress between them. Ultimately, we need to know whether a disparity is on pace to widen or close, not just whether it is getting larger or not. Our Progress Grading Report card takes account of all four inputs.
Below is a legend and a summary of the four factors we used to calculate the grades. All four factors are equally weighted. Click any item on the summary table to highlight that row.
- Absolute Disparity: Percentage change in the absolute disparity between Black and White Americans from 1970 to 2020
- Relative Disparity: Percentage change in the relative disparity between Black and White Americans from 1970 to 2020
- Absolute Progress: The percentage change in the outcome or performance of that condition or indicator for Black Americans from 1970 to 2020
- Relative Progress: The percentage difference in the rate of growth for the variable for Black and White Americans from 1970 to 2020
See our Appendix below for an explanation of how these elements were calculated with an example.
Summary Chart:
Closing Notes:
Thank you for your interest in this project. There were other factors we would like to have included (such as maternal mortality), but for which we cannot get data for in 1970. If you have a request or suggestion for items that should be included or considered for inclusion, please send us a note. Your feedback will be important to us as we consider further iterations of this project.
If you have any questions or suggestions, email us at belonging@berkeley.edu.
Technical Notes:
Although it may seem otherwise, the disparities components used in our report card grade are calculated quite simply. If you click any of the variables on the report card, it explains how they are calculated.
It may help, however, to have a general illustration. In this case, we will run through the entire process using the variable of High School Graduation rates.
1) The Absolute Disparity change is calculated by taking the ratio of the disparity in 1970 to 2020. In 1970, the disparity was 23.70%. In 2020, it was only 1.9%. That is a 91.98% decrease. You can use a percentage calculator, like this one, to calculate that. There are several ways to do it, but the easiest is to simply subtract the 2020 percent from the 1970 percent, and then divide that difference from the original percentage. So you get 23.7-1.9 = 21.8. And 21.8 / 23.7 = 91.98. That decline is denoted as an improvement.
2) The Relative Disparity is calculated by comparing the % increase or decrease of the disparity in relative terms in both periods. Here's how it works in this case of high school graduation rates: The disparity in 1970, again, was 23.7%. When you compare that to the Black graduation rate (of 33.7%) (we need a referent for the relative calculation), you get a ratio of 23.7/33.7 = 0.7033. Then, do the same for 2020. You get: 1.9/89.4 = 0.021. There are two more steps. First, we subtract the 2020 ratio from the 1970 ratio 0.7033-0.021 = 0.6820 (or 68.20% decline in direct terms). Then, we divide that figure by the original ratio: 68.20%/ 70.33%. That gives us the final figure of 96.98%. In other words, a 96.98% decrease in the disparity in relative terms.
3) Absolute Progress is calculated by calculating the % change in the Black variable between the two time periods. The increase in Black graduation rates in 1970 to 2020 was 165%. It's simple to calculate. The rate increased from 33.7% to 89.4%. Again, you can use the percentage calculator, or do it manually. To do it manually, you calculate the difference first: 89.4-33.7= 55.7. Then you take 55.7 and divide that by the original figure, 33.7 and you get 1.652 or 165%.
4) Relative Progress is calculated by comparing the magnitude of the Black change to the magnitude of the white change. You take the figure calculated for #3, which was 165%, and compare that to the white change, which was a 59% increase. Again, you can use the percentage calculator. Or, you can take 165-59 = 106, and then 106/165 = 64.2%.
Since there are four indicators: Absolute and relative disparity, and absolute and relative progress, each would contribute 1/4 or 25 points to a total of 100. If any indicator is 100% or above, we give it a score of 25. Likewise any indicator with -100 or lower is given a value of '0.' all values in between are scaled between 0-25. Using the example of High School Graduation rates just shared, the scaled values for the four indicators are:
- Absolute Disparity: 91.98% scales to 23.998 based on our formula
- Relative Disparity: 96.98% scales to 24.62 based on our formula
- Absolute Progress: 165% is above 100% so it is given a value of 25
- Relative Progress: 64.2% scales to 20.53 based on our formula
Total of these four values is 94.15 giving it a grade of A+
