Toward Equal Opportunity? Changes in the Effect of Socioeconomic Background on Educational Attainment

It is well known that socioeconomic background influences the success a child has in school. Having more resources at their disposal gives children from wealthy families advantages in school, where extra tutoring and material support can make a big difference in student performance. But we do not know whether the relationship between wealth and school performance has changed during the recent period of rising economic inequality. Do trends indicate that a child's educational attainment is more strongly determined by family income and education now than it was 30 years ago? What consequences might this have for intergenerational mobility if the gap between the educational attainment of the rich and poor continues to widen?

Ruth Lopez Turley will examine data from three longitudinal surveys, which give information on students' educational resources, parental support, aspirations and perceptions, grades, course work, college preparation, and achievement test scores. Turley will estimate the effects of socioeconomic background on the probability of applying to college immediately after high school; the probability of enrolling in a two- or four-year college; and the probability of graduating from college.

Reports and Publications

•  Turley, Ruth N. López, Martín Santos, and Cecilia Ceja. 2007. "Social Origin and College Opportunity Expectations across Cohorts." Social Science Research, 36(3):1200-1218. (Gated)