The nation's young Black males are in a state of crisis. They do not have the same opportunities as their male or female counterparts across the country. In order to get a complete picture of the depth of the issues, the authors look most closely at the reading and math achievement of the fourth- and eighth-grade Black males in the large city schools. The authors track their progress and compare their scores, as a whole, with the scores of White males in national public schools. In various combinations, they compare the scores of Black and White males who are and are not eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Black and White males with and without disabilities, and Black males in urban areas vs. Black males in national public schools among other comparisons. Also, they look at the disaggregated reading and math achievement levels of Black males in 18 big city school districts. Finally, the authors look at dropout figures and school experiences. The authors examine college entrance examination scores and college readiness, enrollment, and graduation data. The report concludes with statistics on the postsecondary experiences of Black males, professional degrees attained, wages, and living conditions. Council of the Great City Schools' Demographics, 2008-2009 is appended. (Contains 86 figures and 7 footnotes.)