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Education in the United States has traditionally been viewed as a primary stepping stone to upward social mobility. This has been especially true for the disadvantaged and minority group members. Conventional wisdom suggests that it is our free public school system that guarantees an open society in which children of all social classes and ethnic backgrounds have an equal chance to develop their talents and achieve adult success commensurate with their individual abilities. While a number of observers argue strongly that the U.S. educational system perpetuates and reinforces existing social inequities(Bowles, 1972; Rothbart, 1970), it is still the case that educational attainment is the single best predictor of adult occupational success (Sewell & Hauser, 1975).
Jomills Henry Braddock (Tue,) studied this question.