Educational Inequality: Failing Our Students, Failing Ourselves

The theory behind high-quality public education is that there’s real value—civic, economic, and cultural—in providing every member of our society with the tools to fully utilize his or her potential.   When we all understand our civic rights and obligations, our democracy is stronger.  When we’re all skilled, our economy is more robust.  When our imaginations flourish, our culture is richer.  Conversely, when we systematically fail to provide some members of our nation with a quality education, we preclude these individuals from making their full contributions to our nation, our economy, and our culture.  It is disturbing, then, that persistent educational inequalities exist.

    A recent report, commissioned by America’s Promise Alliance, reveals the dramatic disparities between educational opportunities in cities and suburbs.  These disparities are alarming, but far from uncommon.  As our State of Opportunity in America report uncovered, significant gaps exist along racial and ethnic lines in terms of dropout rates, as well as high school and college degree attainment.  If we intend to achieve our national promise of full and equal opportunity, we have a moral obligation to address these gaps.

    There remains a significant and vital debate about the policies and practices that will maximize student achievement.  It’s exciting to know that many of the sharpest minds of our time are choosing to dedicate themselves to developing strategies for education the next generation.   However, if this conversation doesn’t start with ending education inequality, we will continue to fail our students and ourselves.