The gap between high and low-income students' test scores has increased 40 percent from the 1970s until the early 2000s. The gap for high and low-income young adult students' college enrollment and educational attainment has also grown. However, the education disparities between white and black students have remained the same(but still significant). Achievement gaps are more prominent in metropolitan areas because it is a highly segregated place. The achievement gap between black and white students is larger in areas that are highly segregated. 

Achievement Gap Between High and Low Income Students

A. Income segregation between school districts affects the resources that are crucial to students' success. These resources include school funding, teacher quality, and students' peer characteristics. 

B. Income segregation creates an environment that pools all of the low-income students together, leading to a higher cost in providing a safe learning environment and providing good quality teachers.

C. Income segregation decreases the likelihood of high school graduation for low-income students but does not affect high-income students.



Effects of Income Segregation

On average, white people can afford to live in more affluent areas than black families and thus have access to a better school district with better resources. Nevertheless, black families who make the same income as white families may still live in more impoverished neighborhoods due to a racialized housing process. 


Race and Income Segregation

PSID(Panel Study on Income Dynamics) provides information on

A.Family income 

B.Children's race

C.Children's Test scores

D.Area of metropolitan residence

In 1997, the PSID Child Development Supplement(CDS) collected data on children ranging from 0 to 12 years old and performed two follow-up studies, the CDS I and CDS II. It had a sample size of 2500 children in the CDS II. However, the sample used in this study included about 1200 children because it was restricted to the children assessed in the CDS I living in metropolitan areas. The information was collected over a period, which allows for a better understanding of the children's family situation. It is also important to note that there is an oversample of black families in the PSID.


Data and Methods used by Owens

The sample is limited to black and white students. These models are different than the ones for income segregation.

Model 1 demonstrates that white students had significantly higher math and reading achievement than black students.

Model 2 explores the relationship between income segregation and income. It was found that there is a positive and significant relationship between race and income segregation for math and reading achievement. The achievement gap between white and black students is greater in highly segregated places.

Model 3 controls for the MSA that the child lives in. It was found in places that integrated the MSA's there is no achievement gap between black and white students. However, as income segregation increases in a particular area, white students perform significantly better in math and reading than black students.

Results(Race) of Income segregation between school districts and inequality in students’ achievement

Model 1 predicts math and reading scores based on family income and considers the control variables. It was found that family income has a significant but small effect on scores; for every 10,000 dollar increase in family income, there was a .2 score increase with a standard deviation of 1 percent.

Model 2 compares income segregation among families who enroll their children in public school. This Model doesn't predict reading or math achievement.

Model 3 compares the association between family income and math achievement. Owens found no association between family income and math scores in integrated MSA's but did find a significant association between math scores and family income in highly segregated areas.

Model 4 controls in MSA 
A. Race
B. Racial segregation between districts
C. Median household income 
D.Private school enrollment
It was found that the association between family income and test scores becomes greater in highly income segregated areas.


Results(Income Segregation) of Income segregation between school districts and inequality in students’ achievement

A. Selection Bias-Students attend schools that are within a district. Higher-income children can achieve more than low-income children because their families can afford to live in a more affluent neighborhood and access better schools.

B. Reverse Causality-There can be a preexisting difference between the quality of school districts, which can cause people more likely to choose a neighborhood with a good school distinct. This can cause a cyclical relationship because income segregation leads to gaps in achievement, which leads to gaps in income; the poor stay poor, and the rich stay rich.

C.Cofounders-Income inequality increases income segregation, which can be due to racial disparities.


Things to Consider(Income segregation between school districts and inequality in students’ achievement)

 Income segregation creates very wealthy school districts and impoverished school districts, which can greatly impact future outcomes for students by impacting their levels of achievement. Owens argues in the reference paper that income segregation is a reason behind the achievement gap between low and high-income students.

State University of New York at Stony Brook

Persistent and significant gaps in academic performance and/or educational attainment between high- and low-income students.

Income Achievement Gap

Owens, Ann. "Income segregation between school districts and inequality in students’ achievement." Sociology of Education 91.1 (2018): 1-27.

Income segregation between school districts and inequality in students’ achievement

According to one article, the already existing achievement gap between students from high and low-income families could be impacted by the current 2020 pandemic. It discusses the negative effects that both socioeconomic status and school closures have on the educational outcomes of students. Then it goes into detail about how the socioeconomic achievement gap could be made worse by the effect of the pandemic closing schools. 

Socioeconomic Achievement Gap During The Pandemic

The effects of poverty on academic achievement

Using student performance data gathered from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the last 50 years, Hanushek et. al has observed that the achievement gap has failed to close. By plotting standard deviations observed between the 90th-10th percentiles and the 75th-25th percentiles in socioeconomic status, the following trends were observed:
- For both comparisons, the gap in achievement has remained relatively consistent. 
- When comparing free/reduced-price lunch students and students ineligible for free/reduced-price lunch, the gap in achievement has also remained relatively consistent.
- When factoring in ethnicity, the gap between African American and White students decreased.
- Students between the ages of 13 and 15 (8th grade) have made improvements in learning gains over the last 50 years, while students older than 17 (12th grade) have slowly made less gains over the same period.

Overall, Hanushek et. al posit that while achievement gaps in education has failed to close, the effect observed is closer to a relative Matthew Effect, rather than an absolute one.


Hanushek et. al - The Achievement Gap Fails to Close

Combining socioeconomic data from the Panel Study on Income Dynamics (PSID) and student achievement data from the Child Development Supplement (CDS), Owens finds that income disparities can exacerbate the achievement gap. In addition, families with low income face different outcomes based race and ethnicity. Using multilevel regression models, Owens comes to the following conclusions:
- The larger the income disparity between families, the larger the gap.
- Low-income white families are less affected by both income disparity and their own income when compared to African American families.
- The more homogenous a district is, the stronger the effect becomes.
- Homogeneity-inducing behaviors, whether intentional or unintentional (redlining, seeking better districts, "white flight"/self-segregation), is likely to translocate income disparities and gaps over to achievement gaps.

Income Segregation and Achievement Gap

Research suggests that certain differences in brain structure between students may correlate with differences in their economic statuses. 

Neuroanatomical correlates of the income achievement gap

The Impact of Income Segregation on the Achievement Gap

Of the many kinds of achievement gaps that exist in education, there is one in particular between high-income students and low-income students. It has been documented in past and recent studies that high-income students tend to do better than low-income students in education, from test results to completion of college. 

The Income Achievement Gap Between Students

Read the following scenario. Based on the details provided, analyze the key factors related to the students' family income levels that are likely to contribute to a significant difference in their academic achievements.

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