Event Title
Achievement Gaps Arise from Opportunity Gaps
Location
Donnelley Theatre, Heimbold Visual Arts Center
Start Date
14-11-2014 1:45 PM
End Date
14-11-2014 2:30 PM
Abstract
The ideas of “achievement gap” and “test score gap” have dominated policy discussions over the past two decades about American youths’ overall educational well-being. Meanwhile, scant attention has been paid to a gap that is even more at odds with American ideals: the opportunity gap—a divide that exposes the wide chasm of resources and social inequality in our society. The latter constitute the inputs that shape the outputs of achievement and mobility. In this talk, I will examine what I call the “ecology of opportunity” (or lack thereof) and offer some insights, based on evidence-based research, about not only the challenges embedded in U.S. educational institutions but also the supports and resources that would create deep and substantial improvements in student learning and achievement.
Presenter Biography
Prudence L. Carter is Professor of Education and (by courtesy) Sociology at Stanford University, and the Faculty Director of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities. Professor Carter’s research and teaching expertise are in the areas of inequality and the sociology of education, with a particularly focus on race, ethnicity, class, gender, culture and identity. She is the author of the award-winning book, Keepin’ It Real: School Success beyond Black and White (2005); Stubborn Roots: Race, Culture, and Inequality in U.S. & South African Schools (2012); and co-editor of Closing the Opportunity Gap: What America Must Do to Give Every Child an Even Chance, along with numerous other journal articles, book chapters, and essays. Professor Carter was recently elected to the National Academy of Education and is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and serves on the boards of trustees of Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth and the William T. Grant Foundation.
Streaming Media
Achievement Gaps Arise from Opportunity Gaps
Donnelley Theatre, Heimbold Visual Arts Center
The ideas of “achievement gap” and “test score gap” have dominated policy discussions over the past two decades about American youths’ overall educational well-being. Meanwhile, scant attention has been paid to a gap that is even more at odds with American ideals: the opportunity gap—a divide that exposes the wide chasm of resources and social inequality in our society. The latter constitute the inputs that shape the outputs of achievement and mobility. In this talk, I will examine what I call the “ecology of opportunity” (or lack thereof) and offer some insights, based on evidence-based research, about not only the challenges embedded in U.S. educational institutions but also the supports and resources that would create deep and substantial improvements in student learning and achievement.