Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

Pa. students have more educational opportunities than the national average, but racial disparities are among the worst, study says

With a 13.3% difference in score between opportunities offered to white students vs. students of color, Pennsylvania has the largest racial disparity in the nation, according to the analysis.

Students outside Meredith Elementary in Queen Village in 2018.
Students outside Meredith Elementary in Queen Village in 2018.Read moreDavid Swanson / File Photograph

Pennsylvania students overall receive more access to educational opportunities than the national average, but disparities by race and income are some of the largest in the country, an analysis has found.

According to a data dashboard released this month by Philadelphia-based Research for Action, Black and Hispanic students in Pennsylvania are provided less access to educational opportunity than Black and Hispanic students in most other states, while white Pennsylvania students are provided greater access to educational opportunity than white students elsewhere.

With data from the 2017-18 federal Civil Rights Data Collection, Research for Action’s dashboard assesses children’s access to educational opportunities using 14 factors, including the percentage of students attending public and charter schools that have:

  1. certified teachers

  2. STEM-certified teachers

  3. teachers with at least two years of experience

  4. a student-teacher ratio below 15:1

  5. student-counselor ratio at or below 250:1

  6. suspension rates at or below 2.3%

  7. teacher chronic absenteeism at or below 25.7%

  8. grade retention rate at or below 0.3%

  9. the percentage of students who attend secondary schools offering advanced math, AP courses or dual enrollment, calculus, chemistry, and physics

“Access is the first step to opportunity,” said Anna Shaw-Amoah, a policy associate who worked on the dashboard at Research for Action, an educational research nonprofit. “You can’t take an AP course if your school isn’t able to offer one. You can’t learn from experienced teachers if your school isn’t able to employ them.”

Overall, Research for Action’s analysis found that Pennsylvania schools rank 17th in the nation in educational opportunities provided, and are above average in funding, opportunity, and student achievement.

“But these averages are really masking deep inequity and inadequate levels of funding, opportunity, and achievement in many communities, particularly in communities serving high rates of students of color and low-income families,” said David Lapp, the group’s director of policy research.

With a 13.3% difference in score between opportunities offered to white students vs. students of color, Pennsylvania has the largest racial disparity in the nation, according to the analysis. The commonwealth’s gap between opportunities offered to low-income vs. non-low-income students is the second largest in the country.

» READ MORE: Pa. and N.J. racial gap in access to in-person learning last year was among the worst in the nation, new report says

Two factors contribute to Pennsylvania’s deep racial inequity in educational opportunities, Research for Action’s report said. While Black and Hispanic students are disproportionately enrolled in high-poverty schools providing less access to opportunities, white students are disproportionately enrolled in low-poverty schools, providing higher access.

The report also found that even within schools with medium or high concentrations of poverty, white students were more likely than Black and Hispanic students to have greater access to educational opportunity.

Wide gaps in school resources between districts were at the heart of arguments in the closely watched Pennsylvania school funding trial, which closed in July and awaits a ruling.

» READ MORE: A landmark case that could change school funding across Pa. is going to trial