Page 49 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 49
c. ghosh ■ livin’ the meritocratic dream!
nic groups over the last few decades, whites and Asians are far more like-
ly than blacks to complete college.7 According to the Current Population
Survey, fewer than 25 percent of blacks aged 25 and up have a college de-
gree while the figure is at 36 percent for whites and 53 percent for Asians.8
Whites are also twice as likely to have college degrees as Hispanics.9 The
story is slightly better, however, for high school graduation rates. In 2015,
the US Census reported that 87 percent of blacks and 93.3 percent of
non-Hispanic whites had high school diplomas (Ryan & Bauman, 2016).
But schools are notoriously segregated by race and class. Black, Lati-
no, and American Indian children routinely end up attending subpar
schools that are severely under-resourced – an experience that sets them
on a trajectory of underachievement very early on, and with a deleterious
impact on their chances of receiving a college education, the type of col-
lege education they would have access to, their career choices, and indeed
their lives. One report from the Chronicle of Higher Education cites that
at the turn of the 21st century, the average white elementary school stu-
dent attended a school that was approximately 77 percent white (Orfield
& Lee, 2007: p. 24) and about 31 percent poor (Orfield & Lee, 2007: p.
19). One 2007 study reported that segregation in public schools remained
high for all racial groups except Asians, with white students remaining the
most racially isolated, while more than half of black and Latino students’
peers were black and Latino.10 Black and Latino students are dispropor-
tionately more likely to attend schools populated by students who come
from poor families. Only one percent of white students attend schools
where 91 percent or more of the students are poor, compared to 13 percent
of black students and 15 percent of Latino students.11
Of the 38 million Americans classified as poor, whites number a lit-
tle more than half: about 17 million. However, when you look at rates of
poverty, the racial differences look somewhat starker. 25 percent of Afri-
can-Americans and 20 percent of Hispanics live below the poverty line –
as compared with 10 percent of whites who are poor (Katel, Clark, and
Jost, 2013: p. 129). According to reports from the Century Foundation,
in 2003, whites accounted for 77 percent of the students at high schools
in which the greatest majority went on to college (Katel, Clark, and Jost,
7 Pew Research Center, “Social & Demographic Trends.”
8 Pew Research Center, “Social & Demographic Trends.”
9 Pew Research Center, “Social & Demographic Trends.”
10 Jost and Clark, “Racial Diversity in Public Schools,” 133; also see Orfield and Lee, “Historic
Reversals.”
11 Jost and Clark, “Racial Diversity in Public Schools,” 142; also see Orfield and Lee, “Historic
Reversals.”
47
nic groups over the last few decades, whites and Asians are far more like-
ly than blacks to complete college.7 According to the Current Population
Survey, fewer than 25 percent of blacks aged 25 and up have a college de-
gree while the figure is at 36 percent for whites and 53 percent for Asians.8
Whites are also twice as likely to have college degrees as Hispanics.9 The
story is slightly better, however, for high school graduation rates. In 2015,
the US Census reported that 87 percent of blacks and 93.3 percent of
non-Hispanic whites had high school diplomas (Ryan & Bauman, 2016).
But schools are notoriously segregated by race and class. Black, Lati-
no, and American Indian children routinely end up attending subpar
schools that are severely under-resourced – an experience that sets them
on a trajectory of underachievement very early on, and with a deleterious
impact on their chances of receiving a college education, the type of col-
lege education they would have access to, their career choices, and indeed
their lives. One report from the Chronicle of Higher Education cites that
at the turn of the 21st century, the average white elementary school stu-
dent attended a school that was approximately 77 percent white (Orfield
& Lee, 2007: p. 24) and about 31 percent poor (Orfield & Lee, 2007: p.
19). One 2007 study reported that segregation in public schools remained
high for all racial groups except Asians, with white students remaining the
most racially isolated, while more than half of black and Latino students’
peers were black and Latino.10 Black and Latino students are dispropor-
tionately more likely to attend schools populated by students who come
from poor families. Only one percent of white students attend schools
where 91 percent or more of the students are poor, compared to 13 percent
of black students and 15 percent of Latino students.11
Of the 38 million Americans classified as poor, whites number a lit-
tle more than half: about 17 million. However, when you look at rates of
poverty, the racial differences look somewhat starker. 25 percent of Afri-
can-Americans and 20 percent of Hispanics live below the poverty line –
as compared with 10 percent of whites who are poor (Katel, Clark, and
Jost, 2013: p. 129). According to reports from the Century Foundation,
in 2003, whites accounted for 77 percent of the students at high schools
in which the greatest majority went on to college (Katel, Clark, and Jost,
7 Pew Research Center, “Social & Demographic Trends.”
8 Pew Research Center, “Social & Demographic Trends.”
9 Pew Research Center, “Social & Demographic Trends.”
10 Jost and Clark, “Racial Diversity in Public Schools,” 133; also see Orfield and Lee, “Historic
Reversals.”
11 Jost and Clark, “Racial Diversity in Public Schools,” 142; also see Orfield and Lee, “Historic
Reversals.”
47
