The Price of Opportunity

• In Event: Reproduction of Educational Inequalities by Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Language

Abstract

This AERA submission asks difficult questions about what Kantor and Lowe (2013) call “educationalizing the welfare state.” We investigate the funding and outcome implications when policymakers take only minimal steps to address concentrated poverty, racism, and structural inequalities and instead ask school systems to become the “Great Equalizer.” We define a “Great Equalizer” public school system as one that counterbalances the unequal opportunities that children experience outside of school. Using a modified professional judgment panel (PJP) approach asking expert practitioners to apply a “Great Equalizer” standard, we estimate the funding needed to create a school system that compensates for societal inequities, providing new generations with relatively equal chances at success.

Authors

• Christopher Saldaña, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Kathryn Wiley, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Anna Deese, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Kevin G. Welner, University of Colorado Boulder

• Michelle Renée Valladares, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Frank M. Adamson, California State University, Sacramento