Outsized and Overlooked: The Role of PTA Resources in the Widening Achievement Gap

Murray and Carter will examine the role of parent-teacher associations (PTAs) in exacerbating educational inequality. They will pair data from the IRS on PTA expenditures nationwide with data on district-level achievement from SEDA to analyze the extent to which PTA expenditures affect district-wide achievement gaps. They will also study whether racial and class disparities in students’ exposure to PTA resources drives racial achievement gaps.