Social Policy and the Achievement Gap

Abstract

Educational research and reforms tend to focus on what happens inside schools, despite research consistently indicating that nonschool factors contribute more to the large achievement gap between different races and classes than do in-school factors. We now hear a growing call for social reform as a solution, but an important question remains, “Can social policy close the achievement gap?” This article examines the research from a number of different disciplines and fields and finds that we have plenty of reason to believe that social policy can alter educational performance but little evidence that it does. As such, a number of questions need to be answered before we can claim that social reform can meaningfully and efficiently narrow the achievement gap. Future directions for research and policy are discussed.

Community Schools

“…The relationship between cooperation and academic performance. The HCZ described in Stage 2 is a case of service integration yielding positive educational effects (Bower, 2011;Dobbie & Fryer, 2009**). Similarly, "full-service extended schools" in the United Kingdom cooperate with other institutions to provide a comprehensive range of services, including access to health services, adult learning, study support, and community activities.…”

“…The rationale underlying community schools is that disadvantages that have multiple causes need to be tackled by comprehensive approaches (Bower, 2011;Walraven & Van Wissen, 2001;Weissberg & O'Brien, 2004). Low-income communities often suffer from a lack of high-quality educational and social resources for children and adolescents (Coley, Morris, & Hernandez, 2004;Furstenberg, 1993;Warren, 2005).…”

“…Low-income communities often suffer from a lack of high-quality educational and social resources for children and adolescents (Coley, Morris, & Hernandez, 2004;Furstenberg, 1993;Warren, 2005). Moreover, compared with children from families with a higher socioeconomic status (SES), children with a lower SES background are exposed to difficulties that put them in a disadvantaged position throughout their educational careers (Bower, 2011;Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, & Klebanov, 1994;Duncan, Yeung, Brooks-Gunn, & Smith, 1998;Evans & Kantrowitz, 2002;McLoyd, 1990;Wilson, 2010). In these contexts, teachers and school administrators have to deal with barriers that originate outside schools (Dobbie & Fryer, 2009;Dryfoos, 2008).…”

“…It was not possible to disentangle whether communities coupled with high-quality schools or schools alone drive the results (Dobbie & Fryer, 2009). HCZ has motivated the establishment of 20 Promise Neighborhoods throughout the United States that aim to improve educational outcomes for students in distressed areas (Bower, 2011;Wilson, 2010). For Promise Neighborhoods, there is as yet no empirical evidence on their effectiveness.…”

How Do Promise Neighborhoods’ Strategies Align With Research Evidence on Poverty and Education?

“…A number of authors have examined the links between poverty and academic performance (see, for example, Anyon, 2005; Berliner, 2013; Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 1997; Rothstein, 2004). We start with a list of 18 factors/conditions research has pointed to as important drivers of the achievement gap enumerated in earlier research (Bower, 2013). Below, we briefly describe these 18 factors/conditions and the evidence linking them with academic performance.…”