Closing the Opportunity Gap

Abstract

While the achievement gap has dominated policy discussions over the past two decades, relatively little attention has been paid to a gap that is even more at odds with American ideals: the opportunity gap. Opportunity and achievement, while inextricably connected, are very different goals. Every American will not go to college. But every American should be given fair opportunities to be prepared for college. By treating opportunity as an afterthought and obsessively focusing on measuring achievement, the nation’s policymakers have made little progress in measuring or addressing inequitable opportunities. Policy has therefore failed to engage with these challenges or with the supports and resources that lead to improvements in student learning. The achievement gap has not arisen by coincidence; children learn when they have opportunities to learn, and gaps in opportunities have led to gaps in achievement. Moreover, students’ learning experiences and outcomes are deeply affected by many factors outside the immediate control of schools.Closing the Opportunity Gap brings together top experts who offer evidence-based essays that paint a powerful and shocking picture of denied opportunities. They also describe sensible, research-based policy approaches that will enhance opportunities. They highlight the discrepancies that exist in our society and in our public schools, focusing on how policy decisions and broader circumstances conspire to create the opportunity gap that leads inexorably to the outcome differences that have become so stark.

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