Economic inequality and educational attainment across a generation

It is now clear that the century-long improvement in educational attainment in the United States slowed or declined over the same period during which economic inequality increased. Our research posed questions about the possible relationships between these trends. We asked: Does the increase in economic inequality among families and neighborhoods impede or enhance the overall level of schooling attainment among those children who experience it? Is the disparity in levels of schooling among children growing up in a more unequal environment likely to be greater or less than that among children reared in a less unequal environment? 4