Five Social Disadvantages That Depress Student Performance: Why Schools Alone Can’t Close Achievement Gaps
Economists, sociologists, and developmental psychologists have consistently concluded that background characteristics strongly shape cognitive and behavioral outcomes. When school improvement is not complemented by policies to narrow social class differences, students’ chances of success are greatly diminished. Executive summary That students’ social and economic characteristics shape their cognitive and behavioral outcomes is well established, yet policymakers typically resist accepting that...