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I don't follow how (1) is an indicator(?) of inequality. Aren't all the students capable of learning more with tutoring? Measuring by percentile seems like a

I don't follow how (1) is an indicator(?) of inequality. Aren't all the students capable of learning more with tutoring? Measuring by percentile seems like a problem if everybody improves. It's a good thing to try and make sure everyone performs to some minimum standard for their age, but are you suggesting equal outcome as a goal? If kids are learning at home, are you suggesting they should receive fewer school resources? I'm lost on what the goals are here and what you'd consider success to be?

Hermitian909 5y ago
(1) is not an indicator of inequality but it does imply that in a very unequal economic system (where the rich can afford lots of private tutoring) "more education" is not a very good solution to inequality because only the top few percent of poor kids will be able to compete with the median rich kid.
elliekelly 5y ago
A lot of poorer students don’t get any homework help at home. None. Their parents are working several jobs and don’t have time. Some of the parents might not have the ability. If you had two identically intelligent and capable students and one gets thirty minutes of one-on-one homework help from a parent every day after school and the other didn’t I can definitely imagine there would be a significant difference how much they’ve each learned by the time the school year ends.
- beerandt 5y ago
  But difference shouldn't matter as long as both make sufficient progress and graduate. If that requires help outside of school to do, it's still a "more education" argument. Performance/success in high school might help get into college, but even with that advantage, it's not an indicator of relative success later in life. If attention and stability at home are the issue, then that problem needs to be fixed, but its not an economic one. Plenty of poor parents make the time for their kids, and plenty of wealthy parents ignore them. Parents spending time with kids is tied more to family makeup, with financial security just being a symptom. Having a two-parent home is still the success factor that is in a league of its own, and is an obvious solution to literally doubling parental supply. Presuming a significant number of these poorer students are from single parent/ broken homes, that's the direct solution to "needs parental help at home", not money.

Hermitian909 5y ago

(1) is not an indicator of inequality but it does imply that in a very unequal economic system (where the rich can afford lots of private tutoring) "more education" is not a very good solution to inequality because only the top few percent of poor kids will be able to compete with the median rich kid.

elliekelly 5y ago

A lot of poorer students don’t get any homework help at home. None. Their parents are working several jobs and don’t have time. Some of the parents might not have the ability. If you had two identically intelligent and capable students and one gets thirty minutes of one-on-one homework help from a parent every day after school and the other didn’t I can definitely imagine there would be a significant difference how much they’ve each learned by the time the school year ends.

beerandt 5y ago
But difference shouldn't matter as long as both make sufficient progress and graduate. If that requires help outside of school to do, it's still a "more education" argument. Performance/success in high school might help get into college, but even with that advantage, it's not an indicator of relative success later in life. If attention and stability at home are the issue, then that problem needs to be fixed, but its not an economic one. Plenty of poor parents make the time for their kids, and plenty of wealthy parents ignore them. Parents spending time with kids is tied more to family makeup, with financial security just being a symptom. Having a two-parent home is still the success factor that is in a league of its own, and is an obvious solution to literally doubling parental supply. Presuming a significant number of these poorer students are from single parent/ broken homes, that's the direct solution to "needs parental help at home", not money.