Horace Mann, a prominent education reformer, once described public schooling as “the great equalizer of the conditions of men” in 1848. Despite over 175 years passing, the debate continues among education scholars on whether Mann’s belief holds true. While some research emphasizes the influence of family background on a child’s academic success, other studies point out that schools diminish academic achievement gaps that might otherwise be broader.
In the 1980s, a well-known study tracking Baltimore children revealed that both low-income and wealthier kids learned at comparable rates during the school year. The achievement gaps widened during summer breaks, as some children engaged in activities like reading and attending camps, whereas others lacked similar opportunities. The extent of summer learning loss remains a matter of discussion, but the fact remains: significant gaps in reading and math skills between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds are apparent as early as kindergarten.
Influences Beyond School
I am an education policy scholar focused on various factors affecting student learning, including the role of teachers and instructional quality. Rather than measuring student learning within schools, my colleagues and I examined both in-school and out-of-school resources allocated to students, such as school funding, educational support services, and time invested by families and governmental programs.
Our findings reveal that schools partially act as an equalizer for students from diverse backgrounds, with certain limitations. A study conducted in 2026 used data from ten nationally representative government surveys to monitor 77 investment types that contribute to child-raising and education. These investments included teachers, tutoring, housing, food, and childcare, along with non-monetary factors like parental reading time.
Early Childhood Investment Patterns
The analysis showed that the average U.S. child receives approximately $502,000 in various investments from birth to age 18. The disparity in investments among different children is evident from an early age. For instance, children from the lowest income families receive about $44,000 less in total investments before age 5 compared to wealthier children. This gap predominantly comes from housing and childcare expenses.
The investment disparity between the wealthiest and poorest children decreases significantly, from 24% to 12%, as children transition into elementary school. Black children particularly benefit from beginning school, as their investment gaps drop from 20% in early years to 7% with the start of kindergarten.
The Role of School Spending
Research consistently shows that increased school spending enhances student achievement and long-term outcomes, especially for those from low-income families. Despite this, achievement gaps persist throughout school years. The reason lies partly in how resources are allocated. For example, students from low-income families and Black children often receive more tutoring and special education services, aiming to help them catch up with peers. However, financial resources used for catching up differ from those used for advancing further.
Pandemic Relief and Tutoring
Tutoring has been a key tool in helping students catch up, with studies highlighting significant test-score improvements from tutoring programs. Schools have increased their reliance on tutoring since the pandemic began, aided by nearly $190 billion in Congress-approved pandemic relief funding distributed similarly to Title I money, giving high-poverty districts more resources.
By the 2022-23 academic year, over one-third of public schools offered “high-dosage” tutoring in small-group settings, especially in areas serving low-income students and students of color. Despite these efforts, gaps widened during the pandemic, and high-poverty districts continued to lag behind wealthier counterparts in student performance post-pandemic.
Addressing the Underlying Gaps
Beyond catch-up efforts, wealthier children access more resources, such as experienced teachers and enrichment activities, further aiding their progress. Studies confirm that low-income students and students of color receive instruction from less experienced teachers, and families with higher incomes invest more in music lessons, sports, and other advancement activities.
Research indicates that by 2024, the richest 10% of families spent over 13 times more per child on childcare, education, and extracurriculars compared to the lowest-income quarter. Public education plays a vital part in narrowing investment gaps between rich and poor children upon entering school, yet equal spending does not equate to equal opportunity.
The Need for Comprehensive Support
To achieve true equality, schools must close existing gaps rather than only preventing them from widening. This requires more than catch-up assistance. Less affluent students also need the quality teaching and opportunities their wealthier peers enjoy.
Considering that larger gaps develop before kindergarten due to inadequate public support for housing and childcare, it is clear that schools alone cannot be tasked with closing these disparities.
By David Blazar, Malen Professor for Urban Education Policy, University of Maryland
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
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