Disparities rooted in socioeconomic status continue to be a pervasive challenge, manifesting right from early childhood. A compelling dialogue with Deming, as reported in a Gazette interview, sheds light on this intricate issue, revealing how these disparities originate and evolve over time.

Deming emphasizes that the educational journey of a child is heavily influenced by their socioeconomic background even before they step into a classroom. Children from low-income families often lag behind their wealthier peers in crucial areas such as vocabulary, readiness to learn, and basic health. These disparities are not just academic but extend to behavioral and social aspects, such as the ability to engage in group activities or concentrate in a learning environment.

As children grow, the gap widens, primarily outside the school environment. Affluent families are able to provide their children with enriching experiences like summer camps, travel sports, and other extracurricular activities. These opportunities play a significant role in shaping a child's overall development and readiness for future challenges. Deming points out that while schools play a vital role, much of the inequality stems from what happens beyond the school walls.

The disparities become glaringly evident in standardized testing scenarios. Deming's research reveals that only about a quarter of children from the bottom 20 percent of the income spectrum take the SAT or ACT tests. Among these, a mere 2.5 percent score 1300 or higher. In stark contrast, around 80 percent of children from high-income families take these tests, with about 17 percent scoring 1300 or higher. This data underscores the profound impact of economic inequality on college admissions and subsequent academic and life success.

This insight into the educational disparities grounded in socioeconomic differences calls for a multifaceted approach to education reform. While schools are pivotal, the solution lies in addressing the broader context in which children grow and learn. This includes enhancing access to quality out-of-school learning experiences for children from low-income families and rethinking strategies to level the playing field in standardized testing and college admissions.

In conclusion, Deming's interview with the Gazette is a powerful reminder of the deep-seated inequalities that shape educational outcomes. It underscores the need for a holistic approach to education, one that goes beyond the classroom to address the myriad factors influenced by a child's socioeconomic background. Only through such comprehensive efforts can we hope to bridge the educational divide and foster a more equitable future for all children.

Part of the article is listed below:

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By Liz Mineo - Harvard Staff Writer

November 22, 2023

Source: The Harvard Gazette

A recent Article released by Opportunity Insights, a Harvard-based team of researchers and policy analysts, found that children of the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans were 13 times likelier than the children of low-income families to score 1300 or higher on SAT/ACT tests.

Written by economists Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and David Deming, the paper highlights the role of disparities in education. These inequities follow students from the earliest years of life and education through high school and beyond. They surface in SAT/ACT college-preparatory test scores as a gap between the groups that affects who gets into the nation’s top colleges and universities — and so is best positioned for later success.

The Gazette spoke with Deming, the Isabelle and Scott Black Professor of Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School and professor of education and economics at Harvard Graduate School of Education, about the paper’s findings and the possible solutions.

The Interview

GAZETTE: What are the factors behind the disparities?

DEMING: It starts from an early age. There’s a lot of good research suggesting that the first day that kids show up at kindergarten, there are already differences in academic preparation between children from low-income families and children from high-income families. It’s differences in vocabulary and in readiness to learn; whether kids can sit still and listen; whether they can play well with others; whether they’re in good health. All those things contribute to a young child’s ability to absorb what school has prepared for them.

Access to opportunities becomes more unequal as children age, but that’s mostly access to out-of-school opportunities. As kids grow up, children from families with means can go to summer camp or intensive summer courses, or they’re able to play on travel sports teams and get experience working in groups, etc.

Primarily, the out-of-school time is where you see the inequality emerge, and it tends to increase with time. I think American schools could be doing more, but it’s not actually about what’s happening in the classroom as much as what’s happening outside of the classroom.

GAZETTE: Let’s talk about one of the paper’s findings. What percentage of low-income children take the SAT test? What percentage score 1300 or higher?

DEMING: For children from the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution, only about a quarter of them take an SAT or ACT test. Among those, only about 2.5 percent score 1300 or higher. You can see right there what we’re up against in terms of economic inequality in college admissions and success in college and in life.

GAZETTE: What about children from high-income families? What percentage of them take the SAT test and how many score 1300 or higher?

DEMING: Of course, most of them take the SAT or ACT tests — about 80 percent or more. They’re more likely to take the test, and they’re much more likely to score above 1300. Among SAT test-takers who are in the top 20 percent of the income distribution, about 17 percent score 1300 or higher, so roughly one in six.

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