States have made little progress in supporting high-achieving, low-income students, according to a new report by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
Released this week, the second edition of the report “Equal Talents, Unequal Opportunities” issued several recommendations for states to promote educational excellence and close income-based “excellence gaps.”
The report mirrors the authors’ belief that America has the potential to “cultivate the talent of the next generation” by opening advanced educational opportunities to all students, including low-income students with high ability and potential.
“Low-income students, who now make up over half of our public school population, are much less likely to achieve academic excellence even when demonstrating the potential to do so,” the foundation said.
Dr. Jennifer Glynn, co-author of the report and the foundation’s director of research, said the report examines three broad topics: policies that states have in place, participation rates of students in advanced learning opportunities and student performance outcomes measured using AP scores and test-taking.
Among the report’s findings are that only 14 states received a “B” grade or better for work supporting excellence. No states received a “B” or better for closing excellence gaps.
Additional findings showed that 31 states have policies to provide funding for students to take the SAT, ACT or AP tests, which can be a barrier to college for low-income students, Glynn said.
