The percentage of students from low-income families who go on to earn a bachelor’s degrees is almost the same today as it was in 1965 — 6 percent
then versus 9 percent now — while the percentage of students from
high-income families who go on to earn a bachelor’s degree has skyrocketed between then and now — 40 percent then versus 77 percent now.
That is one of the most disquieting findings of “Indicators of Higher Education Equity in the United States,” a report released jointly Tuesday by the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education and PennAHEAD,
or Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy.
“It’s pretty discouraging,” said Laura Perna, co-author of the report and education professor at the Penn Graduate School of Education, where she is executive director of PennAHEAD, or Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy.
“I think there is some progress, but the magnitude of the gaps that persist are
so large,” Perna said of the report’s findings during an interview Tuesday
at the National Press Club.
Asked if the widening of the gap between rich and poor students who earn a bachelor’s degree suggests that higher education policies and initiatives such as the Higher Education Act of 1965 and Pell Grants have failed, Perna said the gap shows that there is a perpetual need to examine higher education policy and practice in light of ongoing shifts in the demographics of the United States.
“I think the inferences are we need to continually be revising the policies and practices we have in place,” Perna said. “To conclude from this that the policies haven’t had any effect ignores other types of societal changes, changes in demographics and expansions of other types of opportunities.
“There’s more choice now in our system,” Perna continued.
