ERIC Number: ED620595
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Nov
Pages: 35
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
The Economic Achievement Gap in the US, 1960-2020: Reconciling Recent Empirical Findings. CEPA Working Paper No. 21-09
Reardon, Sean F.
Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis
Has the gap in average standardized test scores between students from high- and low-income families widened, narrowed, or remained stable over the last 3 decades? The question is important both because the achievement gap is measure of how (un)equally educational opportunities are distributed in the US, and because the disparity in educational outcomes is a leading indicator of the degree of economic mobility. If the gap is widening, it suggests that children's educational experiences and opportunities in early and middle childhood -- in their homes, neighborhoods, childcare and preschool programs, and K-12 schools -- are becoming increasingly unequal, a sign that the growing economic inequality in the US has led to a parallel growth in educational inequality. A narrowing gap, however, would suggest the opposite: changes in early childhood or K-12 schooling have been equity-enhancing, even in the face of increased economic inequality among families. And because test scores and the skills they measure are valued in college admissions and the labor market, the trend in the test score gap may predict the trend in economic mobility several decades later.
Descriptors: Standardized Tests, Scores, Family Income, Academic Achievement, Achievement Gap, Outcomes of Education, Equal Education, Educational Opportunities, Low Income Students, Kindergarten, Elementary Secondary Education, Preschool Education, Educational Change, Educational History, Economic Factors, Social Differences, College Attendance, Reading Achievement, Educational Trends, Trend Analysis, Mathematics Achievement, National Competency Tests, Achievement Tests, Foreign Countries, International Assessment, Secondary School Students, Science Tests, Science Achievement, Mathematics Tests, Comparative Analysis, Measurement, Socioeconomic Status
Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis. 520 Galvez Mall, CERAS Building, 5th Floor, Stanford, CA 94305. Tel: 650-736-1258; Fax: 650-723-9931; e-mail: contactcepa@stanford.edu; Web site: http://cepa.stanford.edu
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Preschool Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Assessment of Educational Progress; Program for International Student Assessment; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A