Schools play less of a role in widening racial/ethnic achievement gaps than children's prekindergarten environments¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2025: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The authors conclude that schools play less of a role in widening racial/ethnic achievement gaps than children's prekindergarten environments. → Megan Kuhfeld 2020

Evidence¶

Megan Kuhfeld 2020¶

Megan Kuhfeld, Dennis Condron, Doug Downey. (2020). When does inequality grow? A seasonal analysis of racial/ethnic disparities in learning from kindergarten through eighth grade. Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20977854

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Authors' interpretation of the seasonal analysis results, stated in the abstract as an implication rather than a directly tested contrast. The article states that "schools play less of a role in widening racial/ethnic achievement gaps than children's prekindergarten environments." No effect size is printed.

"Our results imply that although schooling does have disparate impacts on the learning trajectories of students, schools play less of a role in widening racial/ethnic achievement gaps than children's prekindergarten environments."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Race and Ethnicity — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• Black-White achievement gaps widen during school periods and shrink during summers among kindergarten through eighth-grade students — related
• Racial/ethnic disparities observed among older students are largely already in place among kindergartners — related
• No evidence that the racial/ethnic achievement gap in CPS elementary scores narrowed or widened from 1992 to 2000 — related
• Poor White students consistently outperformed poor Black and poor Hispanic students in achievement, with gaps widening around ages 7-8 — related
• Controlling for school poverty greatly reduces but does not eliminate racial/ethnic gaps at kindergarten entry — related
• The study frames schooling as a candidate explanation for the development of racial and ethnic inequalities in academic skills — related
• A seasonal analysis of roughly 2 million students examines racial/ethnic disparities in learning from kindergarten through eighth grade — related
• The seasonal analysis of racial/ethnic disparities spans kindergarten through eighth grade — related