From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt: Understanding Achievement in U.S. Schools
2006/10/01 by Gloria Ladson-Billings, Gloria Ladson‐Billings · 3,150 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Academic achievement #Debt #Diverse Education Studies and Reforms #Economics #Macroeconomics #Mathematics education #Parental Involvement in Education #Pedagogy #Political science #Psychology #School Choice and Performance #Sociology #Standardized test #Student debt #Test (biology) #White (mutation)
paper · doi:10.3102/0013189x035007003
published in Educational Researcher 35(7), 3-12 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2006/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract
The achievement gap is one of the most talked-about issues in U.S. education. The term refers to the disparities in standardized test scores between Black and White, Latina/o and White, and recent immigrant and White students. This article argues that a focus on the gap is misplaced. Instead, we need to look at the “education debt” that has accumulated over time. This debt comprises historical, economic, sociopolitical, and moral components. The author draws an analogy with the concept of national debt—which she contrasts with that of a national budget deficit—to argue the significance of the education debt.
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