A University of Michigan study shows that schooling has a great impact in closing the achievement gap for children.

From the article:

“In general, our nation is not looking too bad in terms of reading achievement,” said [developmental psychologist Pamela Davis-Kean]. “That makes sense because in the first years of school, reading gets the bulk of time and attention. But in math, the situation is very different. There are fewer high achievers in all the groups than there are in reading, and there are many more students who seem stuck in lower achievement trajectories. This suggests that schooling doesn’t have as strong an impact on math achievement as it does in reading.”

So wait, if we want to increase the number of minorities participating in the hard sciences, mathematics, and engineering, we need to foster such knowledge from an early age? Fascinating.

Another thing that came to mind from this study is the proof that one’s overall potential cannot be judged strictly based on test scores. The quality of one’s school, the nurturing of educational values in the home, the reading skills (or lack thereof) that picks of from immigrant parents, etc. can all effect where one starts. This should not, however, be construed as an indicator of how well one will be in the future. So if we try to take these points into consideration when admitting students into our universities (Affirmative Action), this study on some level quantifies the fact that with proper nurturing and hard work, these students can perform just as well as other students that had higher test scores and better schools due to more fortunate educational circumstances.

To me and many others, these assertions are obviously self-evident. But to others, this point needs to be hammered home.