A fundamental goal of schooling in the United States is to provide equity in education for all students. There are at least two ways that equity might be defined: (1) in terms of opportunities provided by schools or (2) in terms of student outcomes. From the second perspective, one can argue that if any population of students is achieving significantly below their peers in the nation as a whole or is participating in fewer advanced level mathematics courses, then equity in education is not being provided. This does not imply that schools are totally responsible for differences in achievement patterns of different population groups. There are many other factors within our social structure that affect students' performance in school. But it is a matter of utmost concern when large segments of the population score significantly below their peers on achievement tests and fail to develop the academic skills required to enter many occupations. The elimination of these deficiencies should be a primary goal of education.
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Anick et al. (1981) studied this question.