The Increasing Significance of Class: The Relative Effects of Race and Socioeconomic Status on Academic Achievement

Abstract

Previous researchers have found that, on average, African American students don't perform as well in school as their white counterparts. Another frequent finding is that the higher a student's socioeconomic status the higher her or his educational achievement. However, there has been little attention paid to how race and socioeconomic status interact to affect educational achievement. Using a nationally representative sample from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS), this research examines the longitudinal effects of race and socioeconomic status on 12th grade educational achievement and achievement two years after high school. For 12th grade outcomes, we found that (1) African American students don't perform as well as their white counterparts, and (2) socioeconomic status is more than three times more important than race in predicting outcomes. Results for two years after high school were very surprising: (1) when controlling for socioeconomic status, African American students actually outperform their white counterparts; (2) socioeconomic status and social capital are more powerful in predicting outcomes two years after high school; and (3) white students receive a greater benefit for increases in socioeconomic status than their African American counterparts.

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