The Persistent Challenge of Educational Inequality

In 1848, Horace Mann described public schooling as “the great equalizer of the conditions of men.” Over 175 years later, scholars continue to debate his claim. Research suggests that a child’s family background significantly impacts academic achievement more than schools do. However, some studies indicate that schools can help reduce academic achievement gaps.

A notable study from the 1980s tracked Baltimore children and found both low-income and wealthier kids learned similarly during the school year. Yet, during summer, achievement gaps widened as some kids engaged in activities like reading with parents and attending camps, while others lacked these opportunities. The extent of summer learning loss remains debated.

From the first day of kindergarten, there are significant gaps in reading and math skills between rich and poor children. These gaps are largely influenced by factors outside K-12 schooling. A group of students generally maintains similar gap sizes through their school years.

A scholar of education policy, I focus on factors shaping student learning, including teaching quality. Typically, academic research measures how much students learn at school, but my colleagues and I recently reviewed what students receive both in and out of school. This includes school funding, educational support services, and the time invested in each child by schools, government programs, and families.

Schools contribute to equalizing opportunities for children from various backgrounds, but this has limitations.

A gap that starts early in childhood

In our 2026 study, we used data from 10 national surveys to examine 77 investments that aid children’s education. These investments cover areas like teaching, tutoring, housing, food, and childcare, and factors without direct costs, such as time parents spend reading to children. We assigned a dollar value to each factor, enabling comparisons among children from different backgrounds.

When considering government investments, family spending, and parental time, the average U.S. child receives about $502,000 from birth to 18 years. Early gaps emerge, with the poorest families’ children getting $44,000 less before age 5 compared to the richest families, primarily due to housing and childcare costs.

As children start elementary school, the investment gap reduces from 24% to 12%. For Black children, this gap decreases from 20% in early years to 7% upon reaching kindergarten. This reduction matters since more school spending has shown to improve achievements and long-term outcomes, especially for low-income students.

Despite school efforts, why don’t achievement gaps close? When children from lower-income families enter school, they receive 72% more tutoring and 68% more special education than their higher-income peers. Black children also receive significantly more tutoring than white children. These services aim to help students catch up.

Catching up vs. getting ahead

Money spent on catch-up is different from money spent on advancing students. Schools have widely used tutoring post-pandemic for catch-up purposes. Studies show that tutoring can lead to substantial test score improvements. Federal Title I money, meant for tutoring low-income students, got a significant boost during the pandemic. Congress allocated nearly $190 billion, prioritizing high-poverty areas. By 2022-23, over a third of public schools offered frequent small group tutoring, especially in schools with more low-income students and students of color.

Despite tutoring efforts, achievement gaps widened due to the pandemic. High-poverty districts lag behind wealthier ones more than pre-pandemic levels, despite federal relief. Low-income, Black, and Latino students continue to receive necessary tutoring. A national survey from fall 2022 showed about 15% of students were being tutored, similar to pre-pandemic figures.

Who gets ahead

Lack of equal access to resources also contributes to these gaps. Research shows low-income students often have less experienced teachers compared to wealthier, white students. Our study confirmed this pattern. Outside school, wealthier families invest more in activities like music lessons and sports, helping their children advance.

By 2024, the wealthiest families spent over 13 times more per child on childcare, education, and extracurricular activities than the poorest families.

Equal spending isn’t enough

Public education helps narrow the investment gap between rich and poor children once they start school. However, equal spending doesn’t equate to equal opportunity. Much of the extra funding for low-income, Black, and Latino students addresses existing gaps, rather than closing them.

Schools need to provide more resources that help poorer students advance, not just catch up. The biggest disparities arise before kindergarten, in areas like housing and childcare with minimal public support. Addressing this issue cannot rely on schools alone.

David Blazar, Malen Professor for Urban Education Policy, University of Maryland

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