The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of African American male high school dropout students towards their academic achievements via an alternative asynchronous online learning platform after their unsuccessful attempt to complete a traditional public-school setting requiring the GMA (Georgia Milestone Assessment).The participants were six African American male high school students who enrolled in a private alternative school with an asynchronous online curriculum in order to achieve a high school diploma. Theories guiding this study included the Theory of Planned Behavior which states that behavior is a statement of intention to perform that behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Critical Race Theory explains that humans behave and react to others according to the environment in which they grew up and learned socially (Moon & Singh, 2015). This study uses semi-structured, in-depth interviews with six African American students providing an understanding of the lived experiences of students and the influence of their alternative education. The findings included the following seven themes: fatherless family structure, career attainment, future life planning, academic progress, nurturance/caring, active involvement, and absenteeism. The most intriguing theme was fatherless family structure. All the African American male participants of the study were adolescence without a father figure in their lives which was not criteria for participation. Recommendations in the study included educational programs to better prepare African American males for the Georgia Milestone Assessment. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]