Research from the Education Trust chronicles the performance of students who start high school as high achievers and finds that students of color and from disadvantaged backgrounds, on average, graduate with lower grades, pass fewer Advanced Placement exams, and don’t do as well on the ACT or SAT as their peers from wealthier and white families.
The report, issued this month, focuses on the top quartile of students, based on sophomore-year assessments, and follows their progress through graduation. About one in 17 black students and one in nine Latino students perform in the top quartile, compared with about one in three white and Asian students.
While 10 percent of economically disadvantaged students are the highest achievers, nearly half of wealthy students are.
