Americans are more concerned about wealth-based achievement gaps than Black-White

For decades, researchers have documented large differences in average test scores between minority and White students and between poor and wealthy students. These gaps are a focal point of reformers’ and policymakers’ efforts to address educational inequities. However, the U.S. public’s views on achievement gaps have received little attention from researchers, despite playing an important role in shaping policymakers’ behaviors.

Drawing on randomized experiments with a nationally representative sample of adults, this study explores the public’s beliefs about test score gaps and its support for gap-closing initiatives.

The authors find that Americans are more concerned about—and more supportive of proposals to close—wealth-based achievement gaps than Black-White or Hispanic-White gaps. Americans also explain the causes of wealth-based gaps more readily.