A costly divide in education
On Wednesday, as part of the John Harvard Book Celebration, Harvard Graduate School of Education Dean Kathleen McCartney spoke about the most effective ways to close the achievement gap between low-income students and their middle and higher-income peers. In her hour-long presentation at the Cambridge Public Library, “Addressing the Challenges Facing Public Education,” McCartney outlined the full extent of the achievement gap in terms of educational and life outcomes, including obstacles to effectively closing it. She concluded by detailing reforms she believes would improve the status quo. McCartney illustrated her arguments with research from the social sciences. McCartney started by describing the scope of the problem. In large school districts across the nation, she said, about half of low-income high school students fail to graduate with their class. The United States is falling behind other nations in both math (the U.S. is ranked 25th) and science (17th). McCartney broadened the achievement gap debate...