The link between race, socioeconomic status (SES) and achievement gaps in school.

Newell Normand

Results from the federal Early Child Longitudinal Study show that a broad set of family socioeconomic status factors explains a substantial portion of racial achievement gaps: between 34% and 64% of the Black-White gap and between 51% and 77% of the Hispanic-White gap, depending on the subject and grade level. While socioeconomic status accounts for much of the racial achievement disparities, closing these gaps requires a comprehensive approach, including improving school quality and supporting family stability. Mike Petrilli, President of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution joins Newell to share more findings from the study.