Page 431 - Sociology and You

cation system favors the wealthy. Schools in wealthy neighborhoods are significantly better than schools in economically disadvantaged areas. It follows, then, that students attending wealthier schools get a better education than students attending poorer schools. Further- more, students attending poorer schools do not learn the values, manners, language, and dress of people in more affluent schools. Because the majority of students in poorer schools are members of racial and ethnic minorities, they find themselves at a disadvan- tage when applying for higher-level jobs that lead to higher incomes. (See Figure 12.2.)
How do minorities perform on college en- trance exams? There are related barriers to achievement faced by racial and ethnic minori- ties. An important one of these is lower perfor- mance on college entrance examinations. African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans have lower average scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) than whites. (See Figure 12.3 on page 402.) Sociologists attribute this fact, in part, to the differences in school quality noted above. And both school quality and SAT performance are related to social class. Children from upper-class and upper-middle- class families attend more affluent schools. These children also have higher SAT scores. Social class clearly affects SAT performance.
Figure 12.2 Median Annual Income by Gender, Race, and Education. Clearly, this graph documents the income advantage that white males in the U.S. have over white females and African Americans of both sexes. Explain how this data challenges the existence of a true meritocracy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census,
Income 2000.
Visit soc.glencoe.com and click on Textbook Updates–Chapter 12 for an update of the data.
Chapter 12 Education
401
$60,000 $50,000
$40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000
0
Years of Schooling
Up to 8 9 –11 12
13 –15 16 or m
ore
Black males
White males
African American males
White females
African American females
Social class is a strong predictor of success on the SATs. How is race related to social class?
Median annual income