Ep. 155 - March 20, 2019: The Persistence of Achievement Gaps between Haves and Have-Nots

The conventional wisdom is that, as income inequality has grown in the United States, inequality in education has increased as well.

A new study finds that gaps in student achievement along lines of socioeconomic status have not grown over the past half-century. But neither have they narrowed; rather, they’ve been strikingly persistent.

One of the authors of the new study, Paul E. Peterson, talks with Marty West about the achievement gap’s persistence.

The study is "The Achievement Gap Fails to Close," co-written by Peterson, Eric Hanushek, Laura M. Talpey and Ludger Woessmann, now available at Education Next.

https://www.educationnext.org/achievement-gap-fails-close-half-century-testing-shows-persistent-divide