Racial and ethnic stratification in educational achievement and attainment analyzes differences in academic performance, educational attainment, and theories that attempt to explain these differences among racial and ethnic groups. The study reviews findings that show gaps in test scores, grades, educational aspirations, course taking, and completion rates. It discusses theories like parental socioeconomic status, cultural orientations, and structural position influence achievement. While parental background explains some differences, the study finds less consistency in fully accounting for all racial/ethnic variations. It concludes aspirations are high for all groups but factors translating aspirations into achievement differ among immigrant and minority families.

1. RACIAL AND ETHNIC
STRATIFICATION IN
EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
AND ATTAINMENT
Authors: Grace Kao and Jennifer S. Thompson
Presented and Critiqued by: Nezel Carub Duque

2. PART I: SUMMARY OF THE
RESEARCH

3. RATIONALE
 Parental socioeconomic background has a profound
influence on educational achievement and attainment.
The link between academic performance, educational
attainment, and eventual labor market outcomes is well
known and extensively documented (Coleman 1961, Jencks 1972).
Relative disadvantages and advantages faced by racial and
ethnic minorities can be traced to their differential educational
achievement and attainment (Jencks 1972).

4. REOBJECTIVE
To provide an overview of theories that attempt to explain what
accounts for the documented difference on educational
achievement and attainment among races and ethnicities.

5. METHOD
Key Theoretical Framework
-to explain racial and ethnic differences
Analysis on Group Differences in
Grades, Test Scores, Educational Aspirations,
Course Taking, and Tracking
Analysis on Group Differences in high
school completion, transitions to college, and college
completion
Review on common themes and prominent
theories that are used to account for these
differences

6. THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
CULTURAL ORIENTATION
• Cultural orientations shape attitudes towards
education and achievement .
• Ethnic groups have cultural orientations,
which can benefit or hurt their odds of
economic (and in our case, educational)
success relative to other group (Kao, 1972).

7. THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
STRUCTURAL POSITION
• Class differences are manifested through varying parental
practices and schooling opportunities, which in turn favor
more advantaged students.
• Parental social class has a considerable influence on a
child's educational outcome, structural arguments fault or
credit differences in achievement and attainment on
parental socioeconomic status (SES), which is associated
with parental participation, quality of instruction, school
peers, teachers, and other influences (Sewell & Shah 1968, Sewell
et al. 1969, Murnane et al. 1980, Baker & Stevenson 1986, Astone & McLanahan
1991).

8. FINDINGS ON TEST SCORES
• Achievement test scores can be considered as
an indicator, to varying degrees, of a
combination of innate ability (intelligence) and
learned information.
• Achievement test scores, however imperfect,
measure some degree of ability or intelligence.

9. FINDINGS ON GRADES
• Grades can be considered as an indicator of
academic performance.
• Racial and ethnic variation in grades parallel
that of test scores; however, variations in
grades are more likely to be accounted for by
parental background and student
characteristics and behavior.

10. FINDINGS ON GRADES
• Factors that affect grades:
1.) biases of teachers and students
2.) quality of schools
3.) student input (hours spent on homework and time
watching television)
4.) attitude towards schooling
• Grades signal to students, rightly or wrongly, their
odds of success in school, which may affect their
odds of attaining higher education (Fehrman et. Al
1987).

11. FINDINGS ON EDUCATIONAL
ASPIRATIONS
• Most youth report much higher aspirations than would be
expected given their SES (Kao and Tienda 1998).
• Aspirations are correlated with grades, test scores, and
eventual attainment, it is unclear what having high educational
aspirations actually implies for today’s youth.
“Motivated but are directionless”
• Educational aspirations were a good indicator of students' plans
for the future (Sewell et al. 1969, 1970; Campbel 1983).
• Aspirations are simply a report of students’ likelihood of
attending college and not a motivating factor per se (Alexander &
Cook 1979, Jencks et al. 1983).

12. FINDINGS ON TRACKING AND
COURSE TAKING IN HIGH
SCHOOL
• Low income and minority students participate at higher
rates in vocational curricula and at lower rates in
academic curricula than do affluent and white students
(Oakes & Guiton 1995, Ekstrom et al. 1988).
• Upper-track students who obtain higher grades, are
more likely to complete college, have more positive self
concepts, and have lower rates of misconduct and
truancy, even after controlling for home background
variables (Ansalone 2001).

13. FINDINGS ON TRACKING AND
COURSE TAKING IN HIGH
SCHOOL
• One reason for the differential course taking in high school is
that different schools offer different courses. Low-income,
urban schools do not offer the same range and level of
courses as their more affluent suburban counterparts. Urban
schools are less likely to offer advanced courses or gifted and
talented programs (Garibaldi 1998).
• Differences in course participation are due to educators'
perceptions about race and class differences in academic
motivations and abilities. Students and parents also make
choices about course taking (Oakes & Guiton 1995).

14. FINDINGS ON EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
• Family background explains a large proportion of the
differences in educational attainment between white and
nonwhite ethnic racial groups. In many cases, family
background explains one half to two thirds of the difference
(Mare & Winship 1988).
• Immigration policy also plays a role, as requirements of family
reunification and occupational qualifications have resulted in
the need for formal credentials, and account for the high
educational levels among some Asian immigrant groups
(Portes & Rumbaut 1996

15. FINDINGS ON HIGH SCHOOL
DROPOUTS AND
COMPLETION
• Ethnicity does not appear to have much impact on
dropping out.
• Dropout predictors: financial problems, dating,
suspension, cutting classes, absenteeism, being older,
parent’s education and occupation, family structure,
siblings, discrimination, school segregation, or
differences in aspirations.
• Having two parents at home decreased dropouts.
• Female family headship had a positive association with
school completion for black females (Duncan 1994).

16. FINDINGS ON COLLEGE
TRANSITION
• Number of enrollees can be attributed to
social background factors, such as parents'
education and income, and number of
siblings.

17. FINDINGS ON COLLEGE
COMPLETION
• That racial differences in college completion
may be due to differences in academic
preparation (Camburn 1990).
• Inequalities persist or even increase at the
postsecondary level as groups become more
equal at lower levels of education.

18. REVIEW ON COMMON THEMES AND
PROMINENT THEORIES THAT ARE USED
TO ACCOUNT FOR THESE
DIFFERENCES
Parental Socioeconomic Status
-Parental education and family income is probably the
best predictor of eventual academic outcomes among
youth.
- United states provide equal opportunities for all,
because some minority groups have “made it”.

19. REVIEW ON COMMON THEMES AND
PROMINENT THEORIES THAT ARE USED
TO ACCOUNT FOR THESE
DIFFERENCES
Familism
Asian youth felt a greater obligation to their immigrant parents
and believed that it was their responsibility to the family to do
well in school.
Familism, or the valuation of close ties to family members, is an
important form of social capital and was associated with higher
academic achievement.
Newer immigrant groups perform better in school because they
are more likely to respect authority (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-
Orozco 1995), see their lives in the United States as an
opportunity for advancement, and come from families that are
optimistic about their eventual attainment (Kao & Tienda 1995;
see Zhou 1997 for an excellent review).

20. CONCLUSION
• Educational aspirations are universally high for all
racial and ethnic groups.
• There is less consistency in what factors account for
racial, ethnic, and immigrant differences in
achievement and attainment (Gottfredson 1981).
• Immigrant and minority families may work differently in
translating aspirations into achievement and
aspirations.

21. PART II:
PERSONAL
CRITIQUE

22. CCRITIQUE
The objective was partly attained
- too many researches with different perspective
were cited which led to scattered direction
(temporal ordering of explanations on data)
There were no original data collection
The data is too old for a 2003 research
The data is insufficient to arrive with a clear result.

23. CCRITIQUE
There was no sufficient explanation on
cultural differences
The researches recognized the importance
of parents’ role. But no data were collected
regarding parents’ background.
Understanding what accounts for racial
and ethnic differences is still unclear.

24. EXAM YEAR WHITE BLACK ASIAN HISPANIC
S
Native
America
ns
Mexican
America
n
Reading
Test
1971 291 239
1990 297 267
MATH
TEST
1973 310 270 277
1990 310 289 284
MATH
Assessmen
t Test
301 270 315 278 290
Highest
ACHIEVEM
ENT LEVEL
6% 1% 13% 1%
SAT MATH 1990 491 395 528 437 429
SAT
VERBAL
1990 442 352 410 388 380

25. RECOMMENDATION
• The data from 1990-2002 shall also be collected and studied
to check consistency.
• Parental background shall also be collected and analyzed.
• Significant practices/orientation may be considered.