For black kids, the school-to-prison pipeline opens the second they start preschool

[Captain Stern]

7. The article has some messed up numbers in it.

The first chart shows that black students make up 19% of preschool students.

Then the article says:

"And that disparity is actually slightly worse for black girls than boys. While black boys make up 19% of preschool children, they account for 45% of boys suspended; 20% of preschoolers are black girls, but they account for 54% of girls suspended."

That's not even close to being consistent with the chart. If black boys make up 19% of preschool children, and black girls make up 20% of preschool children, then black students make up 39% of preschool children....not 19%.

The paragraph is also doing some bad comparisons. They are comparing the percentages of black boys in the total preschool population with only the percentage of preschool boys suspended. They are doing the same thing with the girls.

This doesn't mean what they are trying to illustrate isn't true, but that part of the article is sloppy and confusing.