Above: We first show just how different the test scores of Black and White students are: In the top one percent of all test takers in Texas public schools, for example, White students outnumber Black students fifty-to-one; in the lowest achieving percentile, Black students outnumber White students instead three-to-one. We then show that, for any given level of achievement, Black students are (i) much less likely than their White counterparts to be enrolled consistently in gifted programs; (ii) much more likely to attempt a college degree of any kind, particularly at the lower end of the test-score distribution, although less likely (not pictured) to complete those degrees; and (iii) earning significantly less, even at the very top of the test-score distribution, where the gap is close to $20,000 annually.
Working paper available upon request
Abstract
The achievement gap, because it is measurable at young ages yet predictive of socioeconomic disparity decades later, is among the most widely researched disadvantages that Black Americans face. Nevertheless, some of the best available data for understanding racial disparities in test scores remain underutilized. Constructing a panel of half a million children tracked from kindergarten through age 30 in the State of Texas (birth cohorts from 1986 through 1994), this paper first brings to light the immense differences between the test scores of Black and White children not just on average but across the distribution of achievement. It then illustrates that, even among students with the same scores on the same tests, Black students fare substantially worse than their White counterparts on a wide array of short-term and long-term outcomes. The findings highlight several channels through which policymakers and administrators may reduce racial disparities that have persisted as long as they have been measured.
Disclaimer: The conclusions of this research do not necessarily reflect the opinion or official position of the Texas Education Research Center, the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Workforce Commission, or the State of Texas.