Race, Ethnicity, and Educational Achievement

Abstract

This article presents an overview of current trends in racial disparities in educational achievement and attainment. It shows that while gaps in attainment between racial groups are narrowing, White and Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) students continue to attain more education and to achieve greater educational successes than Blacks, Hispanics of all races, and American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). The consequences of the gap in terms of employment and income are presented, and current controversies about standardized testing and affirmative action are discussed in relation to educational achievement. Sociologists differ in their explanations of the racial achievement gap. Explanations including culture, class, and racial discrimination are outlined.

Overview

The disparities in educational persistence, degree attainment, and academic achievement that we observe between different racial and ethnic groups in the United States have their roots in the national historical context. Before the Civil War, most states made it illegal to educate enslaved people. Accordingly, few Blacks living in the South could read or write. While schools were established during Reconstruction to provide basic literacy education, many sharecropping families could not spare a set of hands from the hard work of farming. The new schools serving Black Southerners remained segregated and underfunded even as Black children began attending them, and Black teachers were not able to access teacher training or higher education. As Blacks began to earn high school degrees, a segregated higher education sector developed, but it faced similar budget and training limitations. Secondary educational segregation remained legal until the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court in 1954. In the twenty-first century, schools across the country remain segregated to a significant degree, though this segregation is maintained by residential and income factors (de facto segregation) rather than by law (de jure segregation). Schools that predominantly enroll Black children tend to receive less funding because they are located in areas with lower tax revenues, and thus disparities in the educational environment continue.

Such racial disparities often begin at an early age, and rather than declining as students spend more time in school, disparities tend to grow. However, many measures of educational achievement do show a moderate lessening of disparities over the decades.

Researchers who study educational achievement tend to focus on a few key indicators. First, they look at measures of persistence—in other words, whether students stay in school or drop out. Second, they look at measures of attainment, or what degrees students earn. Finally, they look at measures of achievement, or how well students do while in school. Since all states in the United States maintain minimum dropout ages to ensure that all, or almost all, students will finish at least middle school, researchers tend to consider persistence and attainment for students in high school, college, and beyond. Achievement is considered at all points in the educational system.

Persistence. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in 2021, 7.8 percent of Hispanics between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four had left high school without graduating, compared to 5.9 percent of Black Americans and 4.1 percent of White Americans. The highest dropout rate, however, was among AI/ANs, at 10.2 percent. These statistics reflect a marked decline in the high school dropout rate from 1992, when 29 percent of Hispanics, 14 percent of Black Americans, and 8 percent of White Americans between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four had dropped out.

Attainment. When students graduate from high school, they reach another turning point—whether to enroll in college. The disparities between racial and ethnic groups continue to be apparent in college enrollment rates. NCES reported that in 2021 the immediate college enrollment rate (defined as the percent of students receiving a high school diploma or GED and then enrolling in a two- or four-year college the following year) was 84 percent for students of Asian descent, 64 percent for White students, 57 percent for Hispanic students, and 58 percent for Black students. These rates were significantly higher than in 1995, when 65 percent of White high school completers, 53 percent of Black high school graduates, and 52 percent of Hispanics enrolled immediately in college.

Racial and ethnic disparities grow as students move through postsecondary education. Comparing NCES data with census population estimates, at the associate degree level, Hispanics are somewhat overrepresented, while White Americans are underrepresented. Somewhat fewer Black, Hispanic, and AI/AN students receive bachelor's degrees than their share of the population, but the disparities are the smallest at that level. Master's degrees are also conferred on disproportionately fewer Hispanic and AI/AN students. Black, Hispanic, and AI/AN students are also all underrepresented at the doctoral level, and APIA students are overrepresented by increasing degrees at each level in postsecondary education. There are also gender disparities within racial groups: Black and AI/AN women and Latinas earned more degrees at every level than did men of their racial or ethnic group in 2022, while White and APIA men earned more degrees than did women of the same racial-ethnic backgrounds.

Achievement. These numbers only explain how far students of different racial and ethnic groups advance in school, not how well they perform. While researchers like Steven J. Gould (1996), Claude M. Steele (1998), Christopher Jenks, and Meredith Phillips (1998), and Claude Fischer (1996) have written about the limits of using standardized tests to measure educational achievement, national data on such tests do provide a picture of achievement disparities.

Researchers use a variety of standardized tests to study racial and ethnic disparities in achievement, but two of the most common are the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a multi-subject exam administered nationwide to students in different grades at school, and the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT). The NAEP is scored for fourth through eighth grade out of five hundred points, and for twelfth graders, out of three hundred points. On the math portion of the fourth-grade NAEP in 2022, White students on average scored twenty-nine points higher than Black students, twenty-one points higher than Hispanic students, and eleven points lower than APIA students. White eighth-grade students, on average, scored thirty-two points better in math than Black students, twenty-six points higher than AI/AN students, and twenty-three points higher than Hispanic students, but nineteen points lower than APIA students. Among the twelfth-grade NAEP takers in 2019, the last data available as of 2023, White students, on average, scored thirty-one points higher in math than Black students, twenty-three points higher than AI/AN students, twenty-one points higher than Hispanic twelfth-graders, and fourteen points lower than APIA twelfth-graders. Considering these differences in scores, it is notable that differences in scores among elementary aged students was much less than the difference between scores of the twelfth graders.

Overall, the gaps between White and Black students' NAEP mathematics scores narrowed between the early 1990s and the early 2010s but stayed about the same over much of the decade. The gap between White and Hispanic students' math scores grew until the mid-1990s but narrowed into the early 2010s before climbing again. Similar trends were observed with the gaps in reading over that period.

On the 2022 SAT, White test-takers scored 90 points higher in critical reading on average than Black Americans, 71 points higher than Hispanics, 74 points higher than AI/ANs, and 35 points lower than Asians who took the test. In math, White test-takers scored on average 70 points higher than Black Americans, 52 points higher than Hispanics, 53 points higher than AI/ANs, and 63 points lower than Asians.

Researchers who study these disparities in test scores have offered a variety of explanations for them. Jenks and Phillips (1998) presented several analyses showing that biological and genetic explanations cannot explain the differences in Black and White test scores. Rather, many other factors may play a role, including disparities in the educational resources available in segregated schools, economic factors that limit Black and Hispanic students' access to test-preparation courses and other services, and the "summer setback" that low-income students tend to experience due to a lack of summer enrichment opportunities. Historically, some of the disparities between Black and White students were due to test bias, but today most companies that design standardized tests take the issue of bias seriously and work hard to counter it. Another interesting explanation for the disparities in test scores was proposed by Claude Steele and is known as "stereotype threat." Steele (1999) argued that Black students, especially high-achieving Black students, know that Blacks are often stereotyped as not performing well on standardized tests. These students then are so worried about the stereotype and try so hard to do well on the test that they second-guess themselves and ultimately limit their own performance. Steele's experiments show that priming students to think about race as the test begins or administering aptitude tests increases score differences, while administering tests of knowledge reduces the disparity.

Applications

Employment & Incomes. Differences between racial and ethnic groups in educational achievement matter, most particularly because they affect employment opportunities and future earnings. Unemployment rates for Blacks are higher at all levels of educational attainment: NCES reported that the 2018 unemployment rate for Black college graduates aged twenty-five to thirty-four was 3.6 percent. Meanwhile, 15.8 percent of Black adults of the same age without a high school degree were unemployed. Similarly, AI/AN college graduates in that age group faced a 2.9 percent unemployment rate, while 15.5 percent of similarly aged AI/AN adults without a high school credential were unemployed. These differences occur for White adults (2.0 versus 8.5 percent), Hispanics (2.8 versus 5.3 percent), and Asian adults (2.8 vs. 4.7) as well, though they are not as great. Among all US residents aged twenty-five to thirty-four, the 2019 unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for those who had earned a bachelor's degree and 5.6 percent for those without a high school degree.

Similar patterns are seen with respect to income. According to NCES data, in 2019, the median income for American citizens and residents aged twenty-five to thirty-four with a high school diploma was about $5,700 a year more than for those who had not completed high school ($34,970 versus $29,340). Their peers with a bachelor's degree or higher had a median income more than double ($59,680) what high school leavers earned. While the earnings premiums for additional education are smaller for Black Americans and Hispanics than for APIA and White Americans, they are still significant. Black Americans who attained bachelor's degrees or higher had a median income more than $17,400 higher than those with only high school degrees ($47,310 versus $29,850). While White Americans continue to earn higher incomes than Black Americans and Hispanics, increasing equality in educational attainment would go a long way in reducing income disparities by race and ethnicity.

Viewpoints

Affirmative Action. One way that policymakers have responded to the disparities in educational attainment and achievement discussed above is by instituting affirmative action policies. Affirmative action policies are designed to increase the representation of any underrepresented group in an educational or employment setting and have been used in relation to gender inequality as well as racial inequality. These policies are not the same as quotas, but instead make use of various methods for increasing representation, such as outreach, training, and consideration of different groups' unique experiences. Affirmative action remains controversial. Research suggests that affirmative action programs are successful in reducing some educational disparities but that they also have some unexpected effects. David Colburn and his coauthors found in a 2008 study that affirmative action programs increase the representation of Black and Hispanic students, especially young men, at selective colleges and universities. While their study found that affirmative action had little effect on White access to higher education, they found that the presence of affirmative action limits access for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

A 2018 Gallup poll found most Americans favor affirmative action programs generally, but several polls also show dissension on its use in specific applications such as college admissions, hiring, and promotion. For instance, a 2019 Pew Research Center survey found that 73 percent of Americans thought affirmative action should not be considered in college admissions, while 19 percent said it should be a factor and 7 percent wanted it to be a major factor. Specifically, 62 percent of Black respondents argued against it and 38 percent for it, while for White respondents, the split was 78 percent to 22 percent. In May 2023, Forbes reported that 63 percent of American adults opposed the Supreme Court prohibiting colleges from considering race or ethnicity. Public opposition to affirmative action is based in part on some individuals' belief that such policies disadvantage majority groups, and such opposition has led to a marked decline in affirmative action policies. The Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that affirmative action policies are subject to strict limits on implementation and procedure, and through ballot initiatives and court cases, several states have ruled that affirmative action is illegal.

Race, Class, or Culture as an Explanation for Educational Achievement. The most enduring controversy within sociology about race, ethnicity, and educational achievement is how to explain the differences that we see. There are three main schools of thought about the origin of these differences. Some sociologists argue that cultural differences between racial and ethnic groups can primarily explain the disparities. Others argue that the disparities we see in terms of race are really just class differences that are correlated with race. Finally, the third group thinks that they can be explained by racial discrimination and the United States' history of racial inequality.

Sociologists who argue that culture is responsible for disparities in educational achievement suggest that Blacks and Hispanics value education less than Whites, that they do not try as hard in school, or that broken families and other community issues disrupt these students' academic work. For instance, the oppositional culture model argues that Black students have developed a cultural resistance to school that leads them to avoid academic work and to devalue academic success. Though some scholars continue to believe that this model is accurate, Angel L. Harris (2006) and others have found little support for its thesis.

There is more support for the argument that educational disparities between racial and ethnic groups are really a reflection of class differences. The gaps between racial groups in terms of income and wealth remain significant. According to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, the median household income for households headed by a non-Hispanic White person in 2021 was $77,999. In contrast, the median household income for households headed by a Black person was $48,297. The figure was $57,981 for Hispanics and $101,418 for Asian Americans. Differences on the order of $20,000 can certainly make a significant impact on the educational resources available to students. However, as Melvin Oliver wrote in his 2004 book The Hidden Cost of Being African American, wealth plays a more important role than income in determining access to education. It is wealth that allows a family to move into a more desirable school district, and it is wealth that can pay the bills or secure loans for expensive postsecondary education. Wealth disparities between Black and White Americans are even larger than income disparities. In 2020, the US Census Bureau released data on the net worth of households (net worth is a measure of the total assets of a household minus all its debt). The median net worth for non-Hispanic White households in 2017 was $171,700, and that of Asian American households was $157,400. In contrast, Hispanic households had a net worth of $25,000 and Black households had only $9,567. Some studies have argued that if home equity is subtracted from these figures, the median Black household would be in debt. The differences observed here are significant. According to NCES, the average net cost of attending a public college or university toward a four-year degree was $13,900 per year by 2018–2019 and $27,200 annually at a private nonprofit institution; a 2021 Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University report cited a Realtor.com analysis that pegged the median selling price of a home in April 2020 at $280,800 (meaning a minimal 3.5-percent down payment would be $15,400). These sums of money are within reach for many White and Asian American families, but not for most Black and Hispanic families. Accordingly, analyses of educational inequality find that class is a significant factor in racial attainment gaps.

The third school of thought does not dismiss the role of class. Instead, its proponents argue that class alone cannot explain the racial disparities we see. They point to the "legacies of disaccumulation" that Brown et al. outlined in their 2003 book Whitewashing Race, such as the lack of investment in Black schools and the fact that the parents and grandparents of today's Black students themselves received less education and are therefore less able to provide mentoring and academic assistance. They also point to the role of continuing discrimination. For instance, researchers who study tracking, such as Jeannie Oakes (1985), have argued that Black students, especially boys, are disproportionately likely to be placed in classes on the lowest academic tracks, and these decisions are often made without reference to the academic potential of the students in question. Special education placements and grade retention decisions have similar dynamics, and all these practices can lead to decreased educational achievement over time. George Farkas (2003) also showed that teacher expectations and perceptions of students—including what may be unconscious biases—can affect students' educational achievement and attainment. It is difficult to conclusively prove the importance of discrimination for maintaining educational inequality, however. As Roslyn Arlin Mickelson (2003) has argued, discrimination and other sources of disparities are deeply interconnected, and we are unlikely to be able to untangle them. She argued that proceeding as if discrimination were the explanation for these disparities would provide the best pointers for how to go about eliminating them.

Terms & Concepts

Achievement: Academic achievement specifically refers to students' performance in school on measures like standardized tests and grades. However, it can also be used more broadly as an umbrella term that incorporates these types of performance as well as attainment.

Affirmative Action: Policies and practices used to remedy the effects of past discrimination or inequality in education or employment or to prevent the continuing occurrence of discrimination or inequality.

Attainment: The highest level of education or the total number of years of education completed.

Class: A category of people who share common economic interests. Also refers to the system of such categories existing in a particular society. Class can be measured in various ways. The most common such way is socioeconomic status, a measure combining income, educational attainment, and occupational prestige. Other measures may include wealth or parental or grandparental education or income.

Disaccumulation: This term refers to the build-up of disadvantages over time that results from a pattern of inequality and exclusion from opportunities. Disaccumulation is a way of explaining how racial inequality can continue and even increase without there being any evidence of ongoing discriminatory actions or intentions.

Discrimination: Differentiating between individuals or groups on the basis of prejudicial attitudes and beliefs rather than on the basis of individual merit. Discrimination generally carries the connotation that one group is disadvantaged by such treatment in comparison to another.

Income: The money that someone receives in wages, interest, or other payments over time.

Oppositional Culture: A set of cultural practices that rejects mainstream values and behaviors and refuses to conform to expectations. In terms of education, oppositional culture refers to the idea that Black students devalue academic achievement and equate working hard in school with "acting White" and therefore reject educational goals.

Persistence: Whether or for how long a student remains in a school or degree program.

Segregation: The arrangement of groups into separate geographical areas, schools, or other facilities based on race or some other characteristic not related to individuals' own choices and skills. Segregation can be maintained by law and policy, or it can exist informally through the institutionalized actions of social groups.

Stereotype Threat: The fear that one's behavior will conform to a stereotype held about a group with which one identifies. The experience of stereotype threat can impair one's performance in the particular activity about which the stereotype is held.

Standardized Test: A test that is administered to a large group of test-takers and scored in a consistent and uniform fashion. Standardized tests are designed around explicit assumptions about how scores will be distributed and are thus "standardized" to regulate the results.

Summer Setback: The decline in academic knowledge and test scores that students from lower-income backgrounds can experience over the summer while between grades. Because middle- and upper-class children tend to have access to high-quality camps and enrichment experiences that help them continue to learn over the summer while the summer activities of lower-class students do not reinforce the lessons they learn in school, the summer setback can put low-income students further behind the more advantaged ones.

Wealth: The total value of the assets, such as cash, property, and investments that someone owns.

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Suggested Reading

Bowen, W. G., & Bok, D. (1998). The shape of the river: Long-term consequences of considering race in college and university admissions. Princeton University Press.

Carey, R. L. (2014). A cultural analysis of the achievement gap discourse: Challenging the language and labels used in the work of school reform. Urban Education, 49(4), 440–468. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=95759360

Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities. Crown Publishers.

Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America. Crown Publishers.

Logan, J. R. (2002). Choosing segregation: Racial imbalance in American public schools, 1990–2000. Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research at the University at Albany.