UNCONSCIOUS BIAS AND EDUCATION

To understand why adjusting for a child’s social environment dramatically reduces the
racial achievement gap, consider Figure 2, which shows test scores by age for white
children classified by their mother’s education. Again, gaps in test scores by social
background of the child are substantial, arise early and persist. The test score gap between
the children of more educated and less educated white Americans is similar to the gap in
test scores between white and African Americans. More educated parents simply have
access to more financial resources, and are therefore better able to provide their children
with nurturing and supportive environments in comparison to less educated parents. They
are more likely to provide a home filled with books, an adult environment with universityeducated
professional role models, and the experience required to aid in the educational
process such as monitoring schools for academic standards. On the other hand, common
financial obstacles such as unexpected medical bills, or being the victims of robbery can be
crippling blows for families on the edge. The children of these families therefore tend to
miss out on the necessary food required to concentrate, or the extra funding needed to play
sport and attend field trips.
This problem is not confined to the United States. In New Zealand, there are now 45,000
more impoverished children than there were in 2007. 6 Almost a quarter of a million young
kiwis, through no fault of their own, do not have access to adequate housing, or suitable
clothing. As a result, these children are deprived of the opportunity to learn, to thrive and
to socially engage. Family income matters throughout life, but it has its greatest influence
on forming the ability of children. Schools do little to budge these gaps even though the
quality of schooling attended varies greatly across social classes. A similar story holds for
indices of soft skills classified by social and economic status.
Figure 2: Average White Children Test Scores by Age and Maternal Education
Source: Figure 1 in Heckman (2011)
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