Hispanic students are notably behind their white counterparts in the core academic skills. Although the precise size of the gap depends on the subject area, age or grade, and the assessment, by all measures, a significant gap in mathematics, reading skills and science exists between Hispanic and white students. Educational achievement, or knowledge learned in school, matters. Persons with the same academic diploma often have vastly different levels of math knowledge, reading abilities or problem-solving skills. These differences in school achievement have important effects on social and economic success. Children with greater early cognitive skills are likely to attain higher levels of schooling. High achieving high school students go on to more selective colleges. And teens with higher test scores are paid significantly more in midcareer, even after controlling for other factors. Finally, some evidence suggests that the economic rewards for achievement are increasing over time.