Accumulation of opportunities predicts the educational attainment and adulthood earnings of children born into low- versus higher-income households

Education scholars theorize that “opportunity gaps” – inequitable access toexperiences and settings that support learning – drive achievement disparities betweenchildren born into poverty versus affluence. In a 26-year longitudinal study of children (n =814) from low- and higher-income families, we examine (1) disparity in the accumulation ofopportunities at home, childcare, school, afterschool, and in the neighborhood from birththrough high school, (2) the extent to which opportunity is linked with educational attainmentand earnings in early adulthood, and (3) whether opportunity is most strongly associated withthese adult outcomes for children from low-income households. We document largeopportunity gaps between children from low- versus higher-income households. Theseopportunity gaps are strongly linked with educational attainment and earnings, particularly forlow-income children, helping explain why household income in early childhood predicts theseoutcomes in adulthood.