The Black‐White Achievement Gap, Family‐School Links, and the Importance of Place

Abstract

African American students continue to drop out of school at a level higher than that of their White counterparts and perform lower, on average, in math and reading achievement. Research has documented influences at the family and school levels, yet little work has dealt with both simultaneously. Equally important, few analyses acknowledge that family and school influences are themselves embedded in, and partially a function of, broader structures and spatial variations in class‐ and race‐based opportunity. I draw from the restricted‐use National Educational Longitudinal Survey and 1990 Census data in addressing these concerns. Findings suggest that disparities in family background and educational resources influence racial gaps in achievement, and sometimes in an interrelated manner. These more proximate influences on achievement are, for all students, influenced by spatial patterns of general, class‐based opportunity. Notably, Black disadvantage is exacerbated even further in areas of high racial inequality. Thus, broader structures of racial and class opportunity, rather than one or the other, are important determinants of educational stratification and achievement. Implications for future research are discussed.