Contributing Writer: William Laudon | May, 2024
If education is “the key to unlock the golden door of freedom” as George Washington Carver once put it, then this door remains locked for most Americans. Academic achievement gaps are disparities in academic performance among groups of students defined by race-ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic location, or other limiting factors. These gaps are often observed in differences in test scores or high school graduation rates. The causes of achievement gaps are multifaceted; some result from historically racist policies, income and wealth inequality, and differences in the quality of instruction and school. Academic achievement gaps also persist long beyond the confines of primary and secondary schooling; they’re also observed in levels of post-secondary educational attainment and cast a shadow over an individual’s lifetime. García and Weiss (2017) postulate that academic achievement gaps result in a lack of development of cognitive skills and perpetuate poor academic performance among students, but the effects of achievement gaps extend beyond classroom walls; research suggests a statistical correlation between lower educational attainment and disproportionate lower earnings, poorer health, and higher incarceration rates. The exact causal relationships between education and these circumstances have largely yet to be determined, but nonetheless, a relationship exists. State governments will continue to foot the bill for these effects through depressed GDP and higher healthcare and incarceration costs. Although it may seem that such conditions cannot be alleviated by policy, there exist alternative solutions that can effectively address and mitigate these gaps.
Research indicates that closing the academic achievement gap in the United States would lead to a remarkable boost in both individual earnings and national GDP. The theory behind such an increase lies in the value of human capital. Human capital refers to attributes considered economically beneficial, like good health, habits, and education. A large body of research posits that investments in human capital, particularly educational attainment, are the single largest driver of economic growth (Barro, 2001). Current academic achievement gaps dampen human capital gains among certain groups of students and thus dampen economic growth. By closing academic achievement gaps, individuals would benefit from higher earnings, and the United States would benefit from increases in GDP. In a landmark survey, Nobel-prize-winning economist David Card (1999) explored the causal relationship between educational attainment and individual earnings. He finds that the marginal returns to schooling, especially among groups with low education outcomes, contribute significantly to an increase in earnings. In their most recent 2023 report, the National Center for Education Statistics, a program of the U.S. Department of Education, finds that higher educational attainment is consistent with higher median earnings. In 2021, the median earnings of those with a bachelor’s degree were 55% higher than those with a high school diploma and a staggering 89.5% higher than those with less than a high school education. Disparities in educational attainment contribute significantly to individual earnings and, in a larger sense, dampen potential economic productivity. Auguste, Hancock, and Laboissiere (2009) concluded that achievement gaps constitute a “permanent national recession” in the U.S. economy because of underutilized human capital. Investment in education and closing these gaps can have tremendous impacts. In one projection, Robert Lynch and Patrick Oakford (2014) indicated a potential GDP increase of 5.8 percent, or $2.3 trillion by 2050. Investing in educational achievement can be seen as a means of providing future budget relief as a better-educated workforce is expected to contribute more in taxes, thereby alleviating pressure on benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare. Academic achievement gaps are fiscal costs that the nation continues to pay for.
Research suggests that raising educational levels can potentially lower government-sponsored health expenditures, although the causal relationship between education and health is uncertain. The correlation between lower educational levels and poorer health outcomes is a well-documented phenomenon, yet the exact dependence between the two is difficult to contextualize. In a foundational study, Adriana Lleras-Muney (2002) explained this relationship by analyzing compulsory schooling laws in thirty states across the United States. Her research suggests that education has a causal effect on mortality and health outcomes. Damon Clark and Heather Royer (2013) later attempted a revised explanation with their extensive analysis of British compulsory schooling laws and related health effects but were unable to prove a direct relationship. Little consensus about potential explanations has been reached among scholars; Goldman and Smith (2011) found that increased educational attainment is related to healthy behaviors related to exercise and diets, while Muennig et al. (2009) found that early educational intervention has a positive correlation with obtaining jobs with health benefits, like insurance, which often lead to healthier outcomes. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the causality, research suggests that raising educational levels could reduce health-related expenditures for the public sector. Economist Gerard Anderson details this in a 2010 study. Government-sponsored healthcare costs disproportionately go toward individuals with chronic diseases, who statistically have lower educational levels. Thus, as the research suggests, education can improve health and simultaneously lower government-sponsored health expenditures. Economist Peter Muennig (2006) furthers that each high school graduate, instead of dropping out, saves states an average of $13,706 in government-sponsored healthcare over their lifetime. Extrapolating this finding to the estimated 1.2 million young people projected to drop out of school in the United States annually, the brief predicts estimated savings of over $17 billion over their lifetimes. By improving educational attainment levels, states can save on healthcare costs and contribute to a healthier, wealthier, and wiser society.
Studies have consistently shown that individuals who have not completed high school or its equivalent are significantly overrepresented behind bars. It is important to acknowledge that dropping out of school does not inevitably lead to a life of crime, but lower educational attainment is statistically linked to higher rates of arrest and incarceration. This correlation is more complex than a direct causal relationship. In any discussion concerning the American criminal justice system, racial bias, and de facto segregation play important roles. Lang and Spitzer (2020) theorize that disparities, educational attainment, and incarceration often reinforce one another. A report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute by Morsey and Rothstein (2016) offers perhaps the most in-depth analysis of the intersection between criminal justice reform and educational policy; they find that race, incarceration, and educational attainment are all inexorably linked. From a purely educational standpoint, however, Lochner and Moretti (2004) suggest that education deters criminal behavior by increasing the opportunity cost of engaging in illegal activities. More educated individuals earn higher wages through ‘legitimate work’ and reduce the need to resort to crime. Yeh (2009) expands upon the work of the aforementioned report by Lochner and Moretti and values the savings of incarceration costs of 10% to the federal government and 90% to state governments on average. By closing academic achievement gaps and focusing policy on increasing educational attainment, governments will potentially save money from reduced incarceration costs.
Just as the effects of achievement gaps are complex and multifaceted, so too are potential policy solutions to closing this gap. Research indicates that there are effective solutions to closing achievement gaps; in fact, some of them have already been implemented. Traditionally, policymakers have focused on educational reform within public schools. However, research shows that such reform has not effectively closed this gap. Perhaps the most infamous example, George Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, increased accountability within public schools but did not effectively close academic achievement gaps (Reardon et al., 2013). Despite this shortcoming, research suggests that there are effective ways to close such gaps, including early childhood interventions and parental support. In a foundational analysis, Currie and Almond (2010) found that family characteristics when children begin schooling forecast labor-market outcomes just as well as years of educational attainment and other factors do. Experiences during the first five years of a child’s life are an important measure of workplace success, and it is believed that early childhood interventions are one key to closing achievement gaps. Magnuson and Waldfogel (2005) suggested that making preschool enrollment mandatory for impoverished three and four-year-old children shows significant results in closing school readiness gaps and increasing years of educational attainment. Early childhood interventions, like the federally-funded Head Start program that helps children from low-income families with early learning, show consistent positive results in closing achievement gaps. Another key determinant in the educational success of children lies in their parents and their involvement. Thomson, Hanson, and McLanahan (1994), the former two being UW-Madison researchers, find that the amount of time that parents spend with their children has a significant impact on their educational achievement. The aforementioned report by Currie and Almond (2011) extended the discussion in which the health of pregnant mothers has a profound impact on their child’s ability to learn. Policies that expand health care coverage for lower-income families and policies that promote higher wages and family incomes have a positive effect on educational achievement. Dahl and Lochner (2012) find that an expansion in the Earned Income Tax Credit correlates with higher math and reading test scores. Despite the complexity of education and its determinants, there are relatively simple policy solutions that have powerful impacts on closing educational achievement gaps.
Although seen as the great equalizer, academic achievement gaps prove that educational attainment in the United States is still not equal. Education provides more than useful skills and knowledge; educational attainment correlates with higher earnings, healthier communities, and lower incarceration rates. The causality between these determinants remains largely unexplained and lies at the forefront of pioneering economic research. Despite this uncertainty, however, policy options have proven effective in closing such gaps. Only time will tell whether legislators will heed such compelling evidence. Until then, the golden door of education will remain bolted shut.
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