The Coleman Report, officially Equality of Educational Opportunity, is the 1966 study James S. Coleman and several other scholars were commissioned by the National Center for Education Statistics to write on educational equality in the United States. Covering more than 650,000 students and 60,000 teachers across Black, Native American, Mexican American, poor white, Puerto Rican and Asian demographic groups, it found that a student's family and socioeconomic background explained far more of the difference in achievement scores than any difference in the schools themselves, though differences in school and teacher quality did have a small measurable impact. It remains one of the most cited studies in the sociology of education and reframed school-reform debate around out-of-school factors rather than resources alone.
Facts
Key ProvisionFound that a student's family and socioeconomic background were more important than school resources or spending in explaining differences in achievement. 1 Enacted / Adopted Year Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationColeman Report articleQuote, Coleman Report article
The 1966 report
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationColeman Report article, FindingsQuote, Coleman Report article, Findings
The only consistent variable explaining the differences in score within each racial group or ethnic group was the educational and economic attainment of the parents.
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