How is it possible that Education and Equality of Opportunity are indeed equal when we all

see rich and poor districts across the state and, moreover, rich and poor schools within the
same district? How does education and Equality of Opportunity for all students exist when we
see such big discrepancies?

The briefest answer to the question, How does education

and Equality of Opportunity for all students exist when we
see such big discrepancies between rich and poor school
districts? Rich and poor students? is: it does not. Horace
Manns belief that schools should be the great balance
wheel of society by providing graduates with equality of
opportunity to pursue wealth (Spring, 57). Dr. Joel H.
Spring confirms that, According to Horace Manns dream,
all school districts should be equal. But this is not the
case whenexpenditures per child, test scores, and
college attendance are considered (Spring, 73).
Are we in violation of federal law? Are we moving counter
to the spirit of the Declaration of Independence precept
that all men are created equal? The answer is a
complex one but again distills to no. Spring also notes
that Equality of opportunity is based on the idea of an
unequal society where individuals compete with one
another, with some becoming wealthy and some falling to
the bottom of the economic scale. This was meant to
resolve the conflict between the use of the word equality
and the existence of widespread inequality (Spring, 58).
It did not mean that a federal or state magic wand
would wipe away all dissonance and discrepancies
between classes and place (then keep) them on equal
footing. It meant that all would be given an equal start.

In his study, Equal (Educational) Opportunities and

Social Inequality, Dr. Mitja Sardoc appropriately
references Yale Universitys political economist, Dr. John
E. Roemer, who states, what society owes its members,
under an equal-opportunity policy, is equal access; but
the individual is responsible for turning that access into
actual advantage by the application of effort (Roemer,
24). Dr. Sardoc builds on this analysis by noting that:
the basic question regarding equal (educational)
opportunities is therefore how to ensure that the race
for selective social positions is fair and inequalities that
are the result of a process of competition legitimate as
the ideal of equal opportunity and social inequality are
not mutually exclusive and the outcome of the process of
competing for selective social situations far from
negligible (Sardoc, 46).

Yet the opportunity gap is widening. Confirming this,

Spring raises the question, Are the rich getting richer
and the poor getting poorer? U. S. Census figures confirm
that this is so (Spring, 71), confirming. How best to close
(or tighten) this opportunity gap is not the subject of this
post but it is appropriate to raise the question. In her
April 2015 study addressing closing the opportunity gap
(and creating equal opportunities for all children to learn
at high levels), a New Finance is required. She states a
new financial approach would provide systemic change
and address three broad elements1. I look forward to
hearing what fellow cohort members both think and find
this week as we focus on this issue.

REFERENCES
Roemer, J. E. (1998). Equality of opportunity. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Sardoc, M. (June 2013). Equal (educational) opportunities
and social inequality. Journal of Contemporary
Educational Studies / Sodobna Pedagogika, 64(2), 32-46.
Retrieved September 15, 2015.
Spring, J. H. (2014). American education (16th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Spring, J. H. (2004). Joel Spring Live. Retrieved September 06, 2015, from
http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072558849/student_view0/joel_spring_live.html.

1 First, funding structures would be linked to rigorous curriculum standards and assessment systems creating equal
opportunities to learnNext, high numbers of children in poverty suggest finance policies should be linked to
services for needy children and families dealing with e.g., health, welfare, medical and dental services, juvenile
justice, and social and rehabilitative servicesThe final set of linkages is between education policies and targets for
equity and adequacy to guide and drive policy (Verstegen, 17).

Verstegen, D. A. (4/6/2015). On doing an analysis of

equity and closing the opportunity gap. Education Policy
Analysis Archives, 23(40/41), 1-17. Retrieved September
15, 2015.