There are very strong writers throughout Good Counsel – some who may be apprehensive to share their written work on a larger platform even when it is a great piece of writing. However, The Talon hopes to change that with a new project- “Falcon Speaks” . 

The “Falcon Speaks” project aims to provide Falcons an opportunity to put their written work on a larger platform, or even to share their opinion on a topic that may be of import to them.

Our next article comes from Matthew Hefferon ‘26, who shares about a topic that is very important to him: the bridge in the US education gap.

Matthew shares the cause of this divide and how he plans to help close that gap- including by starting a club here at Good Counsel to support those in our own local community.

In a world where education is often thought of as every child’s ticket to success, the opportunity gap says otherwise. Children go to school with dreams of becoming doctors, yet their family can’t afford to send them to medical school. Many students around the world can choose whether or not they want to attend college, yet some don’t have that privilege. This is the reality of the opportunity gap. It has the undeniable role of shaping educational outcomes but remains hidden behind the presence of the achievement gap. There are many factors that influence students’ educational achievement; however, the undeniable presence of an opportunity gap in education is perhaps the most impactful of those factors and, as such, demands urgent attention and action, as demonstrated by systemic inequalities in regards to access to educational resources and socioeconomic status that disproportionately affect marginalized students, hindering their academic progress and performance.

Matthew Hefferon ‘26 is a sophomore at Good Counsel. He transferred to GC this year from Richard Montgomery, and he plays club soccer for Bethesda SC MLS Next. Matthew is looking forward to launching his plan for a club at Good Counsel that aims to address the opportunity gap and help young students achieve an exceptional education.

First of all, it is important to address what the opportunity gap actually is. The opportunity gap in education refers to the unequal access to quality resources and the means of opportunities to achieve successful outcomes in school. The presence of an opportunity gap undoubtedly leads to disparities in achievement, known as the achievement gap. To measure this achievement gap, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” measures the academic achievement of U.S. students in various subjects through the results of standardized tests. Their results confirm the presence of an achievement gap. For example, the NAEP concluded that “by 8th grade, 91% of African American and 87% of Latino students are not proficient in mathematics”. In contrast, the same study showed about 53% of Asian American and 63% of white students were not proficient”. Whether due to their family’s lack of financial resources, or their school’s lack of access to quality teachers and educational resources, these students are significantly disadvantaged by these systemic inequalities, which are completely beyond their control. 

The opportunity gap is mainly attributed to disparities in access to educational resources that are provided to some school districts but not others. Educational resources refer to the resources schools and students have access to, such as highly qualified teachers. Teachers are at the center of every student’s education. As President Barack Obama said, “The most important factor in determining [student] achievement is not the color of their skin or where they come from … it’s who their teacher is”.

Given the importance of teachers and the degree of influence they have on their students, every student should have access to well-trained, experienced educators. However, in reality, this is not always the case, as teachers tend to not be of the same quality as those found in more wealthy schools and districts. Teacher quality, specifically their qualifications and experience, is disproportionately distributed among schools belonging to separate socioeconomic demographics. The fact that lower-quality teachers are found more prominently in high-poverty schools, which also teach mainly low-income and underprivileged students, clearly indicates that students who most need highly skilled teachers are least likely to have them. Furthermore, teachers who are not well trained on the subject that they are teaching is another related issue. 

Referring back to the NAEP, it has been measured that “more classes in high-poverty schools are taught by out-of-field teachers (34%) than in low-poverty schools (19%). Classes in high schools and middle schools with high percentages of Latino and African American students are also more likely (29%) to be taught by teachers who lack even a minor in the subject area compared to schools with low percentages of minority students (21%)”. This discrepancy in the quality of educators has a direct influence on the opportunities students receive and experience and, in turn, hinders their academic performance. The higher the poverty rate of a school, the more likely it is to have inexperienced, even unqualified teachers. This further widens the opportunity gap because students who are already disadvantaged live in high-poverty areas and attend high-poverty schools have an even greater disadvantage of being more likely to be taught by inexperienced educators. How are these students expected to close the achievement gap if they are not presented with the resources and opportunity to do so?

It is also important to consider students’ families’ socioeconomic demographics when analyzing the causes and factors of the opportunity gap. Socioeconomic status is a term used to describe an individual’s or family’s social and economic position in society. It is typically determined by income, education, and employment. Families who are lower on the socioeconomic ladder are further limited by the opportunities unavailable to their students, especially educational opportunities, such as pursuing higher education by attending college. 

Sociologist James Henslin wrote, “all positions would be awarded on the basis of merit. If so, ability should predict who goes to college. Instead, family income is the best predictor—the more a family earns, the more likely their children are to go to college”. 

Henslin’s point contends that some students simply cannot consider the idea of going to college due to their family’s socioeconomic status. His assertion suggests that educational success is not completely merit-based, but that it is dependent on family income. Henslin concludes, “in short, factors far beyond merit give people their positions in society”. Evidence-based studies confirm that socioeconomic status remains one of the most influential determinants of students’ life outcomes regarding educational, professional, and economic opportunities. 

For example, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a company that conducts large and carefully designed studies that test 15-year-olds in reading, science, and math in over 40 countries. One PISA study of children born in 1984 in Winnipeg, Canada, observed that, although “89% of all students writing the grade-12 language exam passed, only 12% of students whose families had received social assistance in the previous two years passed the exam”. The study also found that students from families of lower socioeconomic status were at least a year behind their peers academically, and some had even dropped out of school. This reveals that these students were notably affected by the opportunity gap due to their families being socioeconomically disadvantaged.

It is pivotal to realize that the opportunity gap maintains unequal disadvantages in the education system, which makes it difficult to have an impartial and fair educational system for all students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. In summary, the opportunity gap in education is a critical issue that does not receive the attention and action it deserves. Systemic inequalities in access to educational resources and socioeconomic status disproportionately affect marginalized students by hindering their academic performance. Data from the NAEP and PISA indicate the presence of the achievement gap and, in relation, the opportunity gap. Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face limitations in pursuing higher education due to financial constraints. Also, teacher quality contributes significantly. 

I believe that the most effective call to action in order to close the opportunity gap is to establish educational programs aside from school hours that provide students with free, extra help. These programs would include tutoring, extra lessons, and teaching other useful life skills that are not usually taught in school, such as email etiquette. These programs would specifically take place at schools with lower average GPAs or higher-poverty student percentage rates.

 Personally, I plan to take action myself and establish a club at Good Counsel where our students will volunteer to tutor younger (elementary) students in need of educational assistance. The opportunity gap needs to be narrowed, and disadvantaged students need someone to count on to help them reach their bright futures. Enough of these programs nationwide, targeting schools and districts that are significantly behind, would be sure to minimize the opportunity gap in some capacity.

Sources:

Alters, Sandra M. “Testing and Achievement.” Education: Meeting America’s Needs?, 2010 ed., Gale, 2010. Information plus Reference Series. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ2133200104/OVIC?u=whea89578&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=9e21276a. 

Flores, Alfinio. “The Achievement Gap in Mathematics Is Caused by a Lack of Resources.” The Achievement Gap, edited by Karen Miller, Detroit, MI, Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010658210/OVIC?u=whea89578&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=f82aae94. Originally published as “Examining Disparities in Mathematics Education: Achievement Gap or Opportunity Gap?” in The High School Journal, vol. 91, Oct.-Nov. 2007, pp. 29-42.

Klein, Joel I. “Poor-Quality Educators Contribute to the Urban Achievement Gap.” The Achievement Gap, edited by Karen Miller, Detroit, MI, Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010658214/OVIC?u=whea89578&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=c1c4ca18. Accessed 15 Feb. 2024. Originally published as “Urban Schools Need Better Teachers, Not Excuses, to Close the Education Gap” in U.S. News & World Report, 4 May 2009.

Levin, Ben. “Schools, Poverty, and the Achievement Gap.” The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 89, no. 1, 2007, pp. 75-76. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20442415.

Milner, H. Richard. “Beyond a Test Score: Explaining Opportunity Gaps in Educational Practice.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 43, no. 6, 2012, pp. 693-718. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23414665.