The Hill, September 14, 2016: (Blog) Finding the Political Will to Close the Excellence Gap

“Compounding the problem is the fact that we are doing precious little to identify promising low-income students of all races. The idea is not to guarantee their success, but ensure that those who have the knowledge and will to succeed and work hard have as much access to the best schools and curricula as their higher-income counterparts. That means identifying promising STEM students early and giving them the support that they need to compete. Unfortunately, U.S. college admissions are heavily skewed toward the children of families with greater financial means because we fail to identify the low-income students early. Nearly three-quarters of students at America’s most selective colleges and universities are from households in the top quarter of the income bracket, according to a recent Jack Kent Cooke Foundation report. At the same time, at 91 of the most competitive colleges and universities, only three percent of students come from families in the bottom quarter of the income scale.”